Modified amino resins

ABSTRACT

This invention relates to products H made by reaction of a cyclic alkyleneurea U, at least one multifunctional aldehyde A2, and at least one of (a) an aminoplast former M that is not the same as the cyclic alkyleneurea U, and (b) a monofunctional aldehyde A1, which product H is optionally etherified by reaction of at least a part of the hydroxyl groups formed by addition reaction of N—H groups and aldehyde groups, with an alcohol having from one to ten carbon atoms, and wherein glyoxal is present in the at least one multifunctional aldehyde A2, to processes for their preparation, and to a method of use thereof in coating compositions.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to modified amino resins, their use ascrosslinking agents and to curable compositions containingpolyfunctional oligomeric or polymeric materials and the said modifiedamino resins.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Crosslinking agents based on amino resins and coating compositions madewith these are well known in the art and have been used for more thanhalf a century in diverse applications including general industrialcoatings, automotive coatings, coil coatings, powder coatings, bakingenamels, and wood finishes. These crosslinking agents are based onreaction products of aldehydes, usually formaldehyde, with amine, amide,urethane or amidine compounds (together referred to as aminoplastformers) such as melamine, guanamines, urea, and substituted ureas.Among the major drawbacks of coatings based on these amino resins areformaldehyde emissions during cure.

Various crosslinking compositions have been developed that are based oncombinations of aminoplast formers and aldehydes other thanformaldehyde. Many of these are either less efficient or more expensivethan the known formaldehyde-based systems, or are otherwiseobjectionable from a safety and health view. Despite numerous effortsmade, none of the crosslinker resins proposed has yet found wide marketacceptance. A reaction product of a cyclic alkyleneurea and glyoxal whencombined with polyfunctional hydroxy and/or carboxyl group containingmaterials offers good crosslinking already at low (ambient=23° C.)temperature, see WO 2009/073836 A1.

It is an object of this invention to provide crosslinking compositionsbased on reaction products of cyclic alkyleneureas and multifunctionalaldehydes that have application properties that can be tailored to theintended use, and that are either on par with the known formaldehydebased systems, or at least provide a favourable match to these knownsystems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It has been found that a product H can be used as crosslinking agentthat provides good curing activity and no formaldehyde emissions whichproduct H comprises a mixture of reaction products P of cyclicalkyleneureas U and multifunctional aldehydes A2 with further reactionproducts having as constituents, besides U and A2, also at least one ofaminoplast formers M which are different from the cyclic alkyleneureasU, and of monofunctional aldehydes A1. The mixture which constitutesproduct H therefore comprises the reaction products P made by reactingcyclic alkylene ureas U and multifunctional aldehydes A2, and at leastone of the following reaction products:

a) reaction products UMA2 made by reaction of cyclic alkylene ureas U,aminoplast formers M which are different from the cyclic alkyleneureasU, and multifunctional aldehydes A2

b) reaction products UMA1A2 made by reaction of cyclic alkylene ureas U,aminoplast formers M which are different from the cyclic alkyleneureasU, monofunctional aldehydes A1, and multifunctional aldehydes A2

c) reaction products MA1A2 made by reaction of aminoplast formers Mwhich are different from the cyclic alkyleneureas U, monofunctionalaldehydes A1, and multifunctional aldehydes A2

d) reaction products UA1A2 made by reaction of cyclic alkylene ureas U,monofunctional aldehydes A1, and multifunctional aldehydes A2

e) reaction products MA2 made by reaction of aminoplast formers M whichare different from the cyclic alkyleneureas U, and multifunctionalaldehydes A2

f) reaction products UA1 made by reaction of cyclic alkylene ureas U,and monofunctional aldehydes A1

g) reaction products UMA1 made by reaction of cyclic alkylene ureas U,aminoplast formers M which are different from the cyclic alkyleneureasU, and monofunctional aldehydes A1

h) reaction products MA1 made by reaction of aminoplast formers M whichare different from the cyclic alkyleneureas U, and monofunctionalaldehydes A1

wherein, in the case of reaction product h) being present in mixturewith the reaction product P which is UA2, at least one of the otherreaction products a), b), c), d), e), f), or g) is also present in themixture.

It is understood that also mixtures of the different reactants can beused in the reactions, such as mixtures of cyclic alkyleneureas U,mixtures of multifunctional aldehydes A2, mixtures of aminoplast formersM which are different from the cyclic alkyleneureas U, and mixtures ofmonofunctional aldehydes A1.

In case of reaction product f) being present in mixture with thereaction product P which is UA2, at least one of the other reactionproducts a), b), c), d, or e) is also present in the mixture.

The product H can be made by concurrent or sequential reaction of thestarting products U, M, A1, and A2. “Concurrent reaction” means, as isusual in the field, to charge all reactants together or within a shorttime span before a significant extent of reaction can occur, beforestarting the reaction by heating to the reaction temperature, or addingthe catalyst if needed. A sequential reaction preferably starts withcharging U and A2, and reacting these at least partially, and thenadding either both M and A1, or only M, or only A1, or adding M beforeA1, or adding A1 before M, and then conducting the reaction until atleast 50%, preferably at least 90%, of the mass of the reactants is usedin the reaction.

As used in this patent application, a “reaction product” of two or moredifferent molecules selected from the group consisting of A1, A2, M, andU has moieties of the named constituents within one molecule. As usedherein, “at least partially reacting” means conducting a reaction in away that at least 1% of the mass of a reactant is used in the reactionunder consideration to form a chemical bond with another reactant.Preferably, this extent of reaction is at least 5%, particularlypreferred, at least 10%.

Other than using mixtures of pre-formed crosslinkers, such as a meremixture of a reaction product UA2 of a cyclic urea U and amultifunctional aldehyde A2, with a reaction product MA1 of anaminoplast former M which is not a cyclic urea, and a monofunctionalaldehyde A1, it has turned out to be advantageous by sequential orconcurrent reaction to provide a range of products H that can be used ascrosslinking agents tailored to specific applications, and meet therequired specifications.

Products of such sequential or concurrent reaction comprising mixturesof a reaction product P of a cyclic alkyleneurea U and a multifunctionalaldehyde A2 with at least one of aminoplast formers M that are not thesame as the cyclic alkyleneureas U, and monofunctional aldehydes A1, canbe specifically adapted to desired curing speed, and temperature range.

The invention therefore relates to a crosslinker composition comprisinga reaction product of at least one cyclic alkyleneurea U, at least onemultifunctional aldehyde A2, and at least one of

-   (a) at least one aminoplast former M that is not the same as the    cyclic alkyleneurea U, and of-   (b) at least one monofunctional aldehyde A1,

wherein the reaction product is optionally etherified by reaction of atleast a part of the hydroxyl groups formed by addition reaction of N—Hgroups and aldehyde groups, with one or more aliphatic alcohols R′—OHhaving preferably from one to ten carbon atoms, and which alcohol R′—OHmay be linear, branched or cyclic, and wherein glyoxal is present in theat least one multifunctional aldehyde A2.

The invention relates also to coating compositions comprising a reactionproduct of at least one cyclic alkyleneurea U, at least onemultifunctional aldehyde A2, and at least one of (a) at least oneaminoplast former M that is not the same as the cyclic alkyleneurea U,and of (b) at least one monofunctional aldehyde A1, which reactionproduct is optionally etherified by reaction of at least a part of thehydroxyl groups formed by addition reaction of N—H groups and aldehydegroups, with one or more aliphatic alcohols R′—OH having preferably fromone to ten carbon atoms, and which alcohol R′—OH may be linear, branchedor cyclic, and wherein glyoxal is present in the at least onemultifunctional aldehyde A2, and a crosslinkable resin which may bewater-borne or solvent-borne, and is an oligomeric or polymeric materialhaving at least one kind of functional groups selected from the groupconsisting of hydroxy functional groups, acid functional groups, amidefunctional groups, amino functional groups, imino functional groups,mercaptan functional groups, phosphine functional groups, and carbamatefunctional groups, which functional groups are reactive with theoptionally etherified reaction products.

This invention further relates to coatings produced from such coatingcompositions, which can be deposited on substrates which may be metal,semiconductor surfaces, plastics including composite, thermoplastic andthermoset materials, glass, ceramic, stone, concrete, plaster, wood,fabricated wood, paper, cardboard, leather, and textiles.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

When using, according to the invention, such products H, the ratio ofthe sum of the mass m(U) of the cyclic alkylene ureas U and the massm(A2) of multifunctional aldehyde A2, to the mass m(H) of the product H,[m(U)+m(A2)]/m(H), is from 1/99 to 99/1, preferably from 10/90 to 90/10,and particularly preferred, from 30/70 to 70/30. The masses in as usedherein always stand for the mass of the active ingredient, and not themass of a solution containing the active ingredient, if not expresslyindicated otherwise.

The multifunctional aldehyde A2 has the formula OHC—R″—CHO where R″ maybe a direct bond or a divalent radical which may preferably be a linear,branched or cyclic aliphatic divalent radical and may have from one toforty carbon atoms, both these options for R′ leading to a divalentaldehyde having exactly two —CHO groups, or an aliphatic divalentradical which may be linear, branched or cyclic and may have from one tothirty-eight carbon atoms, which radical carries at least one additionalaldehyde group —CHO, which latter option leads to trivalent orpolyvalent aliphatic aldehydes having at least three aldehyde groups.For the purpose of this invention, the multifunctional aldehyde A2 isglyoxal or a mixture of glyoxal with at least one furthermultifunctional aldehyde A2. Preferably, also these furthermultifunctional aldehydes A2 are difunctional, i.e. they aredialdehydes.

“Multifunctional” is used to denote, in the context of this invention, amolecule having more than one functional group of the same kind.Preferred multifunctional aldehydes A2 are divalent aliphatic aldehydes,particularly glyoxal, malonic dialdehyde, succinic dialdehyde, glutaricdialdehyde, and adipaldehyde. Especially preferred is glyoxal. It isalso possible to use mixtures of these, preferably mixtures comprising amass fraction of at least 30% of glyoxal, particularly preferred, atleast 50% of glyoxal. Glyoxal may be used for this invention in aqueoussolution, as anhydrous solid which has to be cooled as its meltingtemperature is 15° C., or in the form of its dimer or trimer, optionallyin solid hydrated form as dihydrates, or in the form of its additionproducts with sulphites or hydrogen sulphites which decompose underacidic conditions.

The cyclic alkyleneureas U which may be used according to the presentinvention have at least one unsubstituted amidic >NH group. These cyclicalkyleneureas U are cycloaliphatic or bi-cycloaliphatic compounds havingan element of the structure —NH—CO—NH— within an aliphatic ringstructure, the total number of ring atoms preferably being from 5 to 7(ethylene urea or imidazolidin-2-one, 1,2-propylene urea or4-methylimidazolidin-2-one, 1,3-propylene urea or2-ketohexahydropyrimidine or tetrahydro-(1H)-pyridiminone, 1,4-butyleneurea or tetramethylene urea). The alkylene group may be substituted onone or more carbon atoms by hydroxyl groups, or by alkyl groups, oralkoxy groups, each having preferably from one to ten carbon atoms. Itis, however, preferred that the alkylene group of the cyclicalkyleneureas U is unsubstituted. Particularly preferred is ethyleneurea or a mixture comprising ethylene urea, especially a mixturecomprising at least a mass fraction of 50% of ethylene urea. In the caseof a bicyclic compound, the simplest structure is glycoluril oracetylene diurea.

The cyclic alkyleneureas U may be substituted, preferably by alkylgroups on the N- or C-atoms, or both, the alkyl residues preferablyhaving from one to four carbon atoms. At least one of the nitrogen atomsmust remain unsubstituted to enable reaction with the aldehydefunctional molecule. Preferably, the cyclic alkyleneurea U is selectedfrom the group consisting of ethylene urea, 1,3-propylene urea, andglycoluril, and from the group consisting of those cyclic ureas whichadditionally have at least one substituent R^(3i) on at least one of thenitrogen or carbon atoms of the said cyclic ureas, or their mixtures,with the proviso that at least one nitrogen atom is unsubstituted, andeach substituent R^(3i) is selected independently from the groupconsisting of linear, branched and cyclic alkyl groups having from oneto ten carbon atoms, and also from olefinically unsaturated linear orbranched aliphatic groups having from two to ten carbon atoms, and fromhydroxyalkyl and aminoalkyl groups having from one to ten carbon atoms,where oxygen atoms or —NH— groups may be inserted between any twomethylene —CH₂— or alkylidene >CHR⁴ groups, where R⁴ is a further linearor branched aliphatic group having from one to ten carbon atoms.

The cyclic alkyleneureas may also be generated in situ, by reaction of acompound which has two or more >NH groups with an at least difunctionalaldehyde, such as by reacting a diamine or a diamide with a dialdehyde.An example is dihydroxyethyleneurea which is formed by reacting ureaH₂N—CO—NH₂ with glyoxal OHC—CHO.

It has been found that when using purified cyclic alkyleneureas Uinstead of commercially available qualities, e.g. commercial ethyleneurea which has about 96% purity (the mass fraction of ethylene urea inone commercially available product is (96.0±0.5) %), both colour andstability of the reaction product with multifunctional aldehydes A2 areimproved. Purification can be done by the usual processes such asrecrystallisation, extraction, adsorption and ion exchange reactions,distillation, or sublimation, or complexation, and preferably by meltcrystallisation which latter process has the advantages of low energyconsumption, high space-time yield, and consistently good quality.

A particularly preferred combination is based on glyoxal reacted withethylene urea and at least one of aminoplast formers M, and optionally,either glyoxal, or ethylene urea, or both, in mixture with othermultifunctional aldehydes A2 and/or other cyclic alkyleneureas U. Insuch combinations, the ratio of the mass of ethylene urea to the mass ofall aminoplast formers M used for the synthesis of the reaction productis from 1:99 to 99:1, preferably, from 30:70 to 95:5, and particularlypreferred, from 40:60 to 90:10.

The aminoplast formers M can be selected from the group consisting ofcyclic ureas U2 having at least two carbonyl groups in the ring, such ashydantoin, parabanic acid, barbituric acid, and alloxan, as well asthioderivatives of these, from amines which are preferably aromatic,such as aniline and p-aminobenzyl alcohol, from linear, branched orcyclic amides of mono- or multifunctional carboxylic acids, such asstearylamide, adipic diamide, and lactams such as gamma-butyrolactam,delta-valerolactam, and epsilon-caprolactam, including also the amidesof aromatic carboxylic acids, such as isophthalic diamide, sulphonamidessuch as p-toluene sulphonamide, sulphurylamides, cyanamide and itsderivatives, dicyandiamide and its derivatives, guanidine and itsderivatives, and particularly, urea, thiourea, biuret,2-imino-4-thiobiuret, and homologues of these such as N,N-dimethyl ureaand N,N′-dimethyl urea, as well as the corresponding ethyl and higheralkyl derivatives, and the thiourea derivatives of these, carbamates orurethanes R″—O—CO—NH₂ and thiourethanes R″—O—CS—NH₂, R″—S—CO—NH₂ orR″—S—CS—NH₂ where R″ may be an aliphatic, cycloaliphatic, aromatic orheterocyclic radical having from one to twenty carbon atoms, not morethan one of the amidic hydrogen atoms optionally being substituted by alinear, branched or cyclic alkyl or alkenyl group having from one to tencarbon atoms, melamine and its homologues N-alkylmelamine,N,N-dialkylmelamine, and N,N′,N″-trialkyl melamine having preferablyfrom one to eight carbon atoms in the alkyl group which may be the samein each case, or which may also be different, preferablyN-methylmelamine, N,N-dimethylmelamine, sym-trimethyl melamine, and thecorresponding ethyl compounds, guanamines such as formoguanamine,acetoguanamine, and benzoguanamine, from mixed urea-carbamates having astructure H₂N—CO—NH-Q-O—CO—NH₂, and also from cyclic urea compounds thatare different from the cyclic alkyleneureas U, such as hydantoin alsoknown as glycolyl urea, and parabanic acid also known as oxalyl urea, aswell as homologues and substitution products of these.

Preferred are products H where the at least one aminoplast former M isselected from the group consisting of amines, acid amides, urethanesRu—O—CO—NH₂ and thiourethanes Ru—O—CS—NH₂, Ru—S—CO—NH₂ or Ru—S—CS—NH₂where Ru may be a linear or branched aliphatic, cycloaliphatic, aromaticor heterocyclic radical having up to twenty carbon atoms, cyclicamidines selected from the group consisting of melamine and itshomologues, guanamines, and also from cyclic urea compounds that are notcyclic alkylene ureas, preferably hydantoin or parabanic acid asmentioned supra. Preferred urethanes are linear or branchedalkylurethanes, such as ethyl urethane and butyl urethane, and alkylenebisurethanes such as ethylene and butylene bisurethane.

Further preferred are products H wherein the amides are selected fromthe group consisting of

-   -   linear, branched or cyclic amides of mono- or multifunctional        carboxylic acids, including also the amides of aromatic        carboxylic acids,    -   lactams having from four to fifteen carbon atoms, preferably        selected from the group consisting of gamma-butyrolactam,        delta-valerolactam, epsilon-caprolactam, and omega-laurinlactam,    -   sulphonamides, sulphurylamides,    -   cyanamide and its derivatives,    -   urea, thiourea, guanidine, biuret, 2-imino-4-thiobiuret, and        derivatives and homologues of these.

Also preferred are reaction products P wherein the amidines are selectedfrom the group consisting of melamine, benzoguanamine, acetoguanamine,formoguanamine, N-alkyl-melamine, N,N′-dialkylmelamine,N,N′,N″-trialkylmelamine, trialkoxymelamine, as well asalkoxycarbamoyltriazines in which at least one of the aminic hydrogenatoms of melamine is replaced by an alkoxycarbonyl group, wherein eachof the alkyl and alkoxy groups mentioned may have, independent fromothers in the same molecule, from one to ten carbon atoms in the alkoxygroup.

Also preferred are reaction products P wherein the multifunctionalaldehydes A2 are linear or branched or cyclic aliphatic aldehydes havingmore than one aldehyde group per molecule, and from two to forty carbonatoms preferably selected from the group consisting of glyoxal,malonaldehyde, succinaldehyde, glutaraldehyde, adipaldehyde,2-methoxymethyl-2-4.-dimethylpentan-1,5-dial,cyclohexane-1,3-dial,cyclohexane-1,4-dial, and dialdehydes derived from dimer fatty acids.

Further preferred are reaction products P wherein the monofunctionalaldehydes are linear branched or cyclic aliphatic aldehydes having fromone to twenty carbon atoms, preferably selected from the groupconsisting of formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, propionaldehyde,n-butyraldehyde, 2-methylpropionaldehyde, valeraldehyde (1-pentanal),capronaldehyde (1-hexanal), enanthal (1-heptanal), caprylaldehyde(1-octanal), and 2-ethyl-1-hexanal.

It has further been found, in the experiments underlying the presentinvention, that by reaction of a multifunctional aldehyde A2 withmelamine derivatives that have at least one alkoxycarbonyl groupattached to one or more of the nitrogen atoms that do not form a part ofthe ring, reaction products are formed where either an amino group ofthe melamine derivative, or a carbamoyl group, or both react underaddition with an aldehyde group of the substituted melamine, andformation of a structure —C(OH)—N(X)— where X can be hydrogen or analkoxycarbonyl group. In the case of two molecules of abis-(alkoxycarbamoyl)-mono-aminotriazine reacting with one molecule of adifunctional aldehyde, a molecule is formed which has fouralkoxycarbamoyl groups, under preferred reaction of the aldehyde withthe unsubstituted amino groups, which molecule can be used ascrosslinker for polymers having hydroxy, amino, mercapto, phosphine, orcarboxyl functionality. In the case of a mono-(alkoxy-carbamoyl)diamino-triazine reacting with a difunctional aldehyde, a linearoligomer or polymer is formed that has chain-pendant alkoxycarbamoylgroups. Depending on the stoichiometry and functionality, a broadspectrum of multifunctional crosslinkers with high crosslinkingefficiency can thus be formed.

The reaction between the cyclic alkyleneurea U, the amine, amide, oramidine compounds M, and the multifunctional aldehyde A2, be itsequential or concurrent, can preferably be conducted in the presence ofa solvent which does not react with either of the cyclic alkyleneurea U,the amine, amide, or amidine compounds M, and the multifunctionalaldehyde A2, and the reaction product P of these, as well asintermediate reaction products. The solvent may be added to the reactionmixture for the first step, or to the reaction mixture after the firststep, in a multistep process. Useful solvents are aromatic compounds andmixtures thereof, such as the isomeric xylenes, mixtures thereof, alsowith toluene and ethyl benzene, aromatic and aliphatic esters, paraffinsand mixtures thereof, aliphatic branched hydrocarbons, and linear,branched and cyclic aliphatic ethers. These solvents may also be used toremove water in an azeotropic distillation from the starting productswhich can be added in the form of their aqueous solutions, or ofhydrates.

In a preferred variant, the mixture of cyclic alkyleneurea U, aminoplastformer compounds M, and multifunctional aldehyde A2, and optionally,water or solvent, is concentrated before or during the reaction byremoving volatile constituents by distillation, or distillation underreduced pressure.

In a sequential reaction, an addition reaction is conducted in the firststep between a cyclic alkyleneurea U and a multifunctional aldehyde A2,preferably in a stoichiometric ratio such that the ratio of the amountof substance n(—CHO) of aldehyde —CHO groups in the multifunctionalaldehyde A2 to the amount of substance n(>NH) of amidic >NH groups in Uis from 1.01 mol/mol to 2 mol/mol. In the second step, thealdehyde-functional intermediate of the first step is reacted with theaminoplast former compound M under consumption of at least a part of thealdehyde groups of the intermediate product formed in the first step, orby reaction of compound M with unreacted multifunctional aldehyde A2.This latter alternative is preferred when an in-situ-formation of anaminoplast former is desired, such as in the case of the formation of1,2-dihydroxyethylene urea (4,5-dihydroxy-imidazolidin-2-one) from ureaand glyoxal. The aminoplast former made by the in-situ-reaction can inturn react with further mulifunctional aldehyde A2 or with thealdehyde-functional intermediate of the first step. If this two-step orsequential reaction is chosen, proper control of the pH during thereaction to keep it in the interval of from 5 to 8 can suppressequilibration by backwards reaction. End-capped products can thus beformed if a monofunctional aminoplast former is chosen for this laststep, such as N-methyl-ethylene urea.

In a concurrent reaction, random polyadducts are formed under kineticcontrol if the reactivities of the different aminoplast formers aresimilar, and under thermodynamic control if the pH and other reactionconditions are chosen such that equilibrium reaction conditions arefavoured, preferably at a range of pH lower than 5, or higher than 8, athigher temperature, and for extended periods of time.

Preferred ways of making the products H are the following:

the first variant comprises

-   a) charging at least one cyclic alkyleneurea U, optionally in    mixture with at least one aminoplast former M that is not the same    as the cyclic alkyleneurea U,-   b) admixing at least one multifunctional aldehyde A2, optionally in    mixture with at least one monofunctional aldehyde A1, to the mixture    of step a) to effect an addition reaction to form a reaction    product, optionally, in the presence of a solvent which does not    react with any of the at least one multifunctional aldehyde A2, the    at least one monofunctional aldehyde A1, the at least one cyclic    alkyleneurea U, the at least one aminoplast former M, and the    reaction product of these,-   c) optionally, removing water, during or after step b)-   d) optionally, adding an alcohol R¹—OH, and etherifying under acid    conditions, and optionally, removing at least one of water and    unreacted alcohol R¹—OH,-   e) further optionally, adding after step d) a further quantity of an    alcohol R²—OH and etherifying under acid conditions, and optionally,    removing at least one of water and unreacted alcohol R²—OH,    wherein, if step e) is done, it may be done once or more than once,    and    where R¹ is selected from the group consisting of linear, branched    and cyclic alkyl groups preferably having from one to ten carbon    atoms, and optionally at least one olefinic unsaturation, and R² is    selected from the group consisting of linear, branched and cyclic    alkyl groups preferably having from one to ten carbon atoms, and    optionally at least one olefinic unsaturation, and further    optionally, at least one further hydroxyl group, wherein no two    hydroxyl groups may be on the same carbon atom, and if R¹ is    different from R², the number of carbon atoms of R¹ is smaller than    the number of carbon atoms of R² by at least one;    the second variant comprises-   a) admixing at least one multifunctional aldehyde A2, optionally in    mixture with at least one monofunctional aldehyde A1, to at least    one cyclic alkyleneurea U to effect an addition reaction to form a    reaction product UA, wherein the quantities of A2, and U and if    present, A1, are chosen such that there is an excess of the amount    of substance of aldehyde groups over the amount of substance of NH    groups in the at least one cyclic alkylene urea U, and optionally,    removing water,-   b) admixing at least one aminoplast former M that is not the same as    the cyclic alkyleneurea U and continuing the addition reaction to    form a reaction product,-   c) optionally, removing water, during or after step a) and/or during    or after step b),    where steps a) and b) are optionally conducted in the presence of a    solvent which does not react with any of the multifunctional    aldehyde A2, the monofunctional aldehyde A1, the cyclic alkyleneurea    U, the at least one aminoplast former M, the reaction product UA,    and the reaction product of these,-   d) optionally, adding an alcohol R¹—OH, and etherifying under acid    conditions, and optionally, removing at least one of water and    unreacted alcohol R¹—OH,-   e) further optionally, adding after step d) a further quantity of an    alcohol R²—OH and etherifying under acid conditions, optionally,    removing at least one of water and unreacted alcohol R²—OH,    wherein, if step e) is done, it may be done once or more than once,    and    where R¹ is selected from the group consisting of linear, branched    and cyclic alkyl groups preferably having from one to ten carbon    atoms, and optionally at least one olefinic unsaturation, and R² is    selected from the group consisting of linear, branched and cyclic    alkyl groups preferably having from one to ten carbon atoms, and    optionally at least one olefinic unsaturation, and further    optionally, at least one further hydroxyl group, wherein no two    hydroxyl groups may be on the same carbon atom, and if R¹ is    different from R², the number of carbon atoms of R¹ is smaller than    the number of carbon atoms of R² by at least one; the abbreviation    UA representing an adduct of a cyclic alkylene urea U with a    multifunctional aldehyde A2 or a monofunctional aldehyde A1 or with    both A2 and A1,    the third variant comprises-   a) admixing at least one multifunctional aldehyde A2, optionally in    mixture with at least one monofunctional aldehyde A1, to at least    one aminoplast former M that is not the same as the at least one    cyclic alkyleneurea U of step b) to effect an addition reaction    under formation of the reaction product MA, wherein the quantities    of the at least one multifunctional aldehyde A2 and M, and    optionally, the at least one monofunctional aldehyde A1, are chosen    such that there is an excess of the amount of substance of aldehyde    groups over the amount of substance of NH groups in the at least one    aminoplast former M, and optionally, removing water during or after    this step a),-   b) admixing at least one cyclic alkyleneurea U and continuing the    addition reaction to form a reaction product,-   c) optionally, removing water, during or after step b)    where steps a) and b) are optionally conducted in the presence of a    solvent which does not react with any of the multifunctional    aldehyde A2, the monofunctional aldehyde A1, the cyclic alkyleneurea    U, the at least one aminoplast former M, the reaction product MA,    and the reaction product of these, the abbreviation MA representing    an adduct of an aminoplast former M which is different from the    cyclic alkylene urea U, with a multifunctional aldehyde A2 or a    monofunctional aldehyde A1 or with both A2 and A1,-   d) optionally, adding an alcohol R′—OH, and etherifying under acid    conditions, and optionally, removing at least one of water and    unreacted alcohol R¹—OH,-   e) further optionally, adding after step d) a further quantity of an    alcohol R²—OH and etherifying under acid conditions, and optionally,    removing at least one of water and unreacted alcohol R²—OH,    wherein, if step e) is done, it may be done once or more than once,    and    where R¹ is selected from the group consisting of linear, branched    and cyclic alkyl groups preferably having from one to ten carbon    atoms, and optionally at least one olefinic unsaturation, and R² is    selected from the group consisting of linear, branched and cyclic    alkyl groups preferably having from one to ten carbon atoms, and    optionally at least one olefinic unsaturation, and further    optionally, at least one further hydroxyl group, wherein no two    hydroxyl groups may be on the same carbon atom, and if R¹ is    different from R², the number of carbon atoms of R¹ is smaller than    the number of carbon atoms of R² by at least one;    and the fourth variant comprises-   a) charging at least one cyclic alkyleneurea U,-   b) admixing at least one multifunctional aldehyde A2, optionally in    mixture with at least one monofunctional aldehyde A1, to effect an    addition reaction to form a reaction product UA,-   c) optionally, removing water, during or after step b), to form an    at least partially dehydrated reaction product UA,-   d) adding to the reaction product UA of steps b) or c) a preformed    addition product MA of an aminoplast former M and a monofunctional    aldehyde A1, or of a preformed addition product MA of an aminoplast    former M and a mixture of a monofunctional aldehyde A1 and a    multifunctional aldehyde A2, or a mixture of an aminoplast former M    and at least one of a monofunctional aldehyde A1, and/or at least    one multifunctional aldehyde A2, and reacting the mixture thus    formed to effect formation of a reaction product under at least a    partial interchange of the components of the addition products UA,    optionally under removal of water,-   e) optionally, adding an alcohol R¹—OH, and etherifying under acid    conditions, and optionally, removing at least one of water and    unreacted alcohol R¹—OH,-   f) further optionally, adding after step e) a further quantity of an    alcohol R²—OH and etherifying under acid conditions, optionally,    removing at least one of water and unreacted alcohol R²—OH,    wherein, if step f) is done, it may be done once or more than once,    wherein optionally, any of the steps b) to f) may be conducted in    the presence of a solvent which does not react with any of the    multifunctional aldehyde A2, the at least one monofunctional    aldehyde A1, the at least one cyclic alkyleneurea U, the at least    one aminoplast former M, the addition product MA of an aminoplast    former M and a mixture of a monofunctional aldehyde A1 and a    multifunctional aldehyde A2, and the reaction products formed from    these, and    where R¹ is selected from the group consisting of linear, branched    and cyclic alkyl groups preferably having from one to ten carbon    atoms, and optionally at least one olefinic unsaturation, and R² is    selected from the group consisting of linear, branched and cyclic    alkyl groups preferably having from one to ten carbon atoms, and    optionally at least one olefinic unsaturation, and further    optionally, at least one further hydroxyl group, wherein no two    hydroxyl groups may be on the same carbon atom, and if R¹ is    different from R², the number of carbon atoms of R¹ is smaller than    the number of carbon atoms of R² by at least one;    and the fifth variant comprises-   a) charging at least one aminoplast former M,-   b) admixing at least one monofunctional aldehyde A1, optionally in    mixture with at least one multifunctional aldehyde A2, to effect an    addition reaction to form a reaction product MA, optionally, in the    presence of a solvent which does not react with any of the at least    one multifunctional aldehyde A2, the at least one monofunctional    aldehyde A1, the at least one aminoplast former M, and the reaction    product MA,-   c) optionally, removing water, during or after step b), to form an    at least partially dehydrated reaction product MA,-   d) adding to the reaction product MA of steps b) or c) a preformed    addition product UA of a cyclic alkylene urea U and a    multifunctional aldehyde A2, or a preformed addition product UA of    at least one cyclic alkylene urea U and a mixture of a    monofunctional aldehyde A1 and a multifunctional aldehyde A2, or a    mixture of a cyclic alkylene urea U and at least one of a    monofunctional aldehyde A1, and/or a multifunctional aldehyde A2,    and reacting the mixture thus formed to effect formation of a    reaction product under at least a partial interchange of the    components of the addition products MA and UA, optionally under    removal of water, and further optionally, in the presence of a    solvent which does not react with any of the at least one    multifunctional aldehyde A2, the at least one monofunctional    aldehyde A1, the at least one cyclic alkyleneurea U, the at least    one aminoplast former M, and the reaction products formed from    these,-   e) optionally, adding an alcohol R¹—OH, and etherifying under acid    conditions, and optionally, removing at least one of water and    unreacted alcohol R¹—OH,-   f) further optionally, adding after step e) a further quantity of an    alcohol R²—OH and etherifying under acid conditions, optionally,    removing at least one of water and unreacted alcohol R²—OH,    wherein, if step f) is done, it may be done once or more than once,    and    where R¹ is selected from the group consisting of linear, branched    and cyclic alkyl groups preferably having from one to ten carbon    atoms, and optionally at least one olefinic unsaturation, and R² is    selected from the group consisting of linear, branched and cyclic    alkyl groups preferably having from one to ten carbon atoms, and    optionally at least one olefinic unsaturation, and further    optionally, at least one further hydroxyl group, wherein no two    hydroxyl groups may be on the same carbon atom, and if R¹ is    different from R², the number of carbon atoms of R¹ is smaller than    the number of carbon atoms of R² by at least one.

In any of these preferred variants, it is further preferred to add themultifunctional aldehyde A2 in two or more separate portions at adifferent times during the process.

Admixing a monofunctional aldehyde A1, or a monofunctional aminoplastformer M, to a reaction product that has terminal >NH functional groupsor terminal aldehyde functional groups, will lead to end-capping, byreaction of the terminal >NH functional group with the monofunctionalaldehyde, or by reaction of a terminal aldehyde functional group with anaminoplast former molecule M that has just one >NH group. Suchend-capped products have lower viscosity and can be tailored to thesuggested end use by match of their viscosity with the binder resin.

On the other hand, reaction of any of the reaction products describedsupra having terminal aldehyde functionality on at least two chain endswith a compound having at least two >NH functional groups, or in theother alternative, reaction of any of the reaction products describedsupra having terminal >NH functional groups on at least two chain endswith a compound having at least two aldehyde functional groups, willlead to chain extension, thus providing a highly oligomeric or polymericproduct with increased viscosity.

In a preferred embodiment, the preferably at least partially etherifiedproducts H are used as component in the crosslinker compositionsaccording to the invention.

“Etherified” means here in a product of an addition reaction of analdehyde to a cyclic alkyleneurea U (X being the residue of a cyclicalkyleneurea U which may have been reacted with a multifunctionalaldehyde A2 or may also be part of a polymer or an oligomer chain, aftertaking out a —CO—NH— group):

that a hydroxyl group bonded to a carbonyl carbon atom of an aldehydemolecule (denoted by bold print “C” in the formulae supra) which isgenerated in the addition reaction is replaced by an alkoxy group —OR.The (growing) polymer chain is denoted by “˜˜˜˜”. In the case of linearureas or other amide, amine or amidine compounds, analogous structuresare formed.

In the preferred case of using ethylene urea as cyclic alkyleneurea U,and glyoxal as multifunctional aldehyde A2, —R′— is a direct bond, and—X— is —NH—CH₂—CH₂—.

“Partially etherified” means here that both —OH and —OR groups bonded tocarbonyl carbon atoms of the aldehyde are present in such “partiallyetherified” product, which at least partially etherified reactionproduct has as substituents on the carbonyl carbon atoms of the aldehydeA1 or A2 at least one kind of functional groups selected from the groupconsisting of hydroxyl groups —OH and alkoxy groups —OR.

“Partially etherified” in the context of the present invention meanspreferably that the ratio of the amount of substance n(—OR) of alkoxygroups generated by etherification with alcohols of hydroxyl groupswhich are formed by the reaction of an aldehyde group with an n(—CO—NH)group to the sum of the amount of substance n(—OR) of said alkoxy groupsand the amount of substance n(—OH) of non-etherified said hydroxylgroups is at least 0.01 mol/mol.

The aliphatic alcohols R—OH useful for the invention have at least onehydroxyl group, and from one to twelve carbon atoms, preferably one toeight carbon atoms, which may be interrupted by one or more of —O—,—NR″—, —S—, where R″ stands for H, or an alkyl group having from one tosix carbon atoms, with the proviso that not two —O— or not two —S— atomsmay be immediately adjacent. They can be linear, branched or cyclic,preferably linear or branched, are preferably monoalcohols andpreferably have from one to twelve, preferably one to eight carbonatoms, such as methanol, ethanol, n- and iso-propanol, and the isomericbutanols, particularly n-butanol, and iso-butanol, n-hexanol, or2-ethylhexanol. Other preferred alcohols are etheralcohols of theformula R³—(O—C_(n)H_(2n))_(m)—OH where R³ is an alkyl group havingpreferably from one to four carbon atoms, n is an integer of from 2 to4, and m is an integer of from 1 to 10, such as ethylene glycolmonomethylether, ethylene glycol monobutylether, triethylene glycolmonoethylether, or dipropyleneglycol monomethylether. Among the cyclicaliphatic alcohols, cyclohexanol is preferred. A small amount, i.e. upto a mass fraction of 10% of the aliphatic alcohols used, may bedifunctional or polyfunctional (having a functionality of three ormore). In a further embodiment, olefinically unsaturated alcohols can beused for etherification, thereby leading to polymerisable reactionproducts P. Useful alcohols have one hydroxyl group per molecule, and atleast one olefinic unsaturation. These can be unsaturated aliphaticalcohols having from three to ten carbon atoms, preferably allylalcohol, and methallyl alcohol, or half esters of diols, or partialesters of tri-hydric and higher functional alcohols, with olefinicallyunsaturated carboxylic acids, such as hydroxyethyl acrylate,hydroxyethyl methacrylate, hydroxypropyl acrylate, and hydroxypropylmethacrylate. These and other unsaturated hydroxyfunctional compoundsare also included in the definition of “unsaturated alcohols”, for thepurpose of the present invention.

It is further preferred that the degree of etherification of the productH, measured as the ratio n(RO—)/[n(—OH)+n(RO—)] of the amount ofsubstance n(RO—) of alkoxy groups to the sum of the amounts of substanceof etherified and non-etherified hydroxyl groups, is at least 0.4mol/mol.

It is further preferred that the product H has a ratio of the amount ofsubstance of residual >NH groups to the sum of the amounts of substanceof moieties derived from the cyclic urea U and aminoplast former M ofnot more than 0.2 mol/mol.

Repetition of an etherification step, i.e. addition of alcohol andfurther etherification after optional removal of water and unreactedalcohol, has been found to increase the degree of etherification. Thisrepetition is particularly preferable in the case of only one alcoholbeing used for etherification. Double or triple or multipleetherification, the number of repetitions being selected to reach thedesired degree of etherification, is therefore a preferred method.

In a preferred variant, after an etherification step, at least a part ofthe unreacted alcohol and optionally, at least a part of the waterpresent, and further optionally, at least a part of the at least onesolvent that has no reactive groups which react with aldehyde groups,n(—CO—NH) groups, or hydroxyl groups, is removed by azeotropicdistillation wherein a solvent is added that is immiscible with water ina way that it forms a phase separate from an aqueous phase containing atleast a part of the water separated by distillation, wherein the phasedifferent from the aqueous phase is recycled to the distillation still,or back to the reactor.

If a solid precipitate or a suspended solid is formed during thereaction, this solid matter is preferably separated by any of the usualprocesses such as centrifugation, or filtration.

It has further been found that the reaction between the cyclic urea Uand the multifunctional aldehyde A2 can preferably be conducted in thepresence of a solvent which does not react with either of the cyclicurea U, the multifunctional aldehyde A2, and the reaction product UA ofthese. This finding also applies to formation of reaction products ofthe aminoplast formers M and of monofunctional aldehydes A1, and ofcourse, other combinations of these starting materials or educts. Usefulsolvents are aromatic compounds and mixtures thereof, such as theisomeric xylenes, mixtures thereof, also with toluene and ethyl benzene,aromatic and aliphatic esters, paraffins and mixtures thereof, aliphaticbranched hydrocarbons, and linear, branched and cyclic aliphatic ethers.These solvents may also be used to remove water in an azeotropicdistillation from the starting products which can be added in the formof their aqueous solutions, or of hydrates.

The at least partially etherified products H thus obtained can becombined as crosslinker composition both with solvent borne and withwater borne binder resins having active hydrogen functionality(hydroxyl, amine, mercaptan, phosphine or acid groups which may becarboxylic or derived from other organically bound acids).

The preparation of a coating composition involves admixing the product Hto a crosslinkable resin, and optionally, adding a catalyst which ispreferably an acid catalyst, which crosslinkable resin is an oligomericor polymeric material having at least one kind of functional groupshaving active hydrogen atoms, selected from the group consisting ofhydroxy functional groups, acid functional groups, amide functionalgroups, amino functional groups, imino functional groups, mercaptanfunctional groups, phosphine functional groups, and carbamate functionalgroups, to form a coating composition.

In a preferred variant, the crosslinkable composition comprises anoligomeric or polymeric material the functional groups of which arehydroxyl groups, and the polymeric or oligomeric material is selectedfrom the group consisting of acrylic resins, polyester resins, alkydresins, polyurethane resins, epoxy resins, vinyl resins, polyetherpolyols, characterised in that the polymeric or oligomeric material hasa hydroxyl number of from 5 mg/g to 300 mg/g.

In a further preferred variant, the crosslinkable composition comprisesan oligomeric or polymeric material the functional groups of which arecarboxyl groups or sulphonic acid groups, and the oligomeric orpolymeric material is selected from the group consisting of acrylicresins, polyester resins, alkyd resins, polyurethane resins, epoxy esterresins, vinyl resins, rosin, and maleinate resins, wherein theoligomeric or polymeric material preferably has an acid number of from 5mg/g to 300 mg/g.

Suitable active hydrogen-containing materials include, for example,polyfunctional hydroxy group containing materials such as polyols,hydroxyfunctional acrylic resins having pendant or terminal hydroxyfunctionalities, hydroxyfunctional polyester resins having pendant orterminal hydroxy functionalities, hydroxyfunctional polyurethaneprepolymers, products derived from the reaction of epoxy compounds withan amine, and mixtures thereof. Acrylic and polyester resins arepreferred. Examples of the polyfunctional hydroxy group containingmaterials include commercially available materials such as DURAMAC®203-1385 alkyd resin (Eastman Chemical Co.); Beckosol® 12035 alkyd resin(Reichhold Chemical Co.), JONCRYL® 500 acrylic resin (S. C. Johnson &Sons, Racine, Wis.); AT-400 acrylic resin (Rohm & Haas, Philadelphia,Pa.); CARGILL® 3000 and 5776 polyester resins (Cargill, Minneapolis,Minn.); K-FLEX® XM-2302 and XM-2306 resins (King Industries, Norwalk,Conn.); CHEMPOL® 11-1369 resin (Cook Composites and Polymers, PortWashington, Wis.); CRYLCOAT® 3494 solid hydroxy terminated polyesterresin (Cytec Industries Inc., Woodland Park, N.J.); RUCOTE® 101polyester resin (Ruco Polymer, Hicksville, N.Y.); JONCRYL® SCX-800-A andSCX-800-B hydroxyfunctional solid acrylic resins (S. C. Johnson & Sons,Racine, Wis.).

Examples of carboxyfunctional resins include CRYLCOAT® solid carboxyterminated polyester resin (Cytec Industries Inc., Woodland Park, N.J.).Suitable resins containing amino, amido, carbamate or mercaptan groups,including groups convertible thereto, are in general well-known to thoseof ordinary skill in the art and may be prepared by known methodsincluding copolymerising a suitably functionalised monomer with acomonomer capable of copolymerising therewith.

In a further preferred variant, the crosslinkable composition comprisesan oligomeric or polymeric material the functional groups of which areamino groups, and the oligomeric or polymeric material is selected fromthe group consisting of acrylic resins, polyurethane resins, epoxy amineadducts, and vinyl resins, characterised in that the oligomeric orpolymeric material has an amine number of from 5 mg/g to 300 mg/g.

In a further preferred variant, the crosslinkable composition comprisesan oligomeric or polymeric material the functional groups of which arecarbamate functional groups, and the polymeric material is selected fromthe group consisting of acrylic resins, polyurethane resins, epoxy amineadducts, and vinyl resins, characterised in that the polymeric materialhas a specific amount of substance of carbamate groups of from 0.1mmol/g to 6 mmol/g.

In a further preferred variant, the crosslinkable composition comprisesan oligomeric or polymeric material which is present as an aqueousdispersion.

In a further preferred variant, the crosslinkable composition comprisesan oligomeric or polymeric material which is present as a solution in anon-aqueous solvent.

In a further preferred variant, the crosslinkable composition comprisesan oligomeric or polymeric material which is present as a particulatesolid, preferably having a melting temperature in excess of 35° C.

Coating compositions are prepared by admixing the mixture comprising theproduct H as crosslinker to a polymeric binder resin having activehydrogen atoms, i.e. at least one of hydroxyl groups, acid groups,preferably carboxyl groups, carbamate groups, amide groups, imidegroups, amino groups, imino groups, mercaptan groups, or phosphinegroups. The resulting mixture is homogenised, and applied to a substrateby spraying, brushing, wire coating, curtain coating, blade coating,roll coating, dipping, electrophoretic deposition, powder spraying, orelectrostatic spraying.

The ratio of mass of solids of the binder resin to the mass of theproduct H is preferably from 99/1 to 1/99, particularly preferably from95/5 to 60/40, and most preferred, from 90/10 to 70/30.

As crosslinker compositions comprising the products H, when adequatelycatalysed, are active already at ambient temperature (20° C. to 25° C.),they are particularly useful to cure coatings on heat sensitivesubstrates, such as paper, cardboard, textiles, leather, wood,fabricated wood, and also plastics including composite materials,thermoplastics, and thermosets. They also work, of course, ascrosslinkers for coating compositions that are used on substrates suchas metals, semiconductor surfaces, ceramics, stone, plaster, glass, andconcrete which allow higher curing temperatures. Application of saidcrosslinker composition in combination with the binder resins mentionedsupra together with an appropriate catalyst can also be considered wherecure temperature or energy savings are an issue.

Suitable catalysts are preferably acid catalysts, particularly thoseselected from the group consisting of organic sulphonic acids, organicphosphonic acids, organic sulphonimides, and Lewis acids, or salts orcomplexes of Lewis acids such as amine salts or ether complexes. Usefulcatalysts are para-toluene sulphonic acid (pTSA), dodecylbenzenesulphonic (DDBSA), dinonylnaphthalene sulphonic acid (DNNSA), anddinonyl naphthalene disulphonic acid (DNNDSA), which may also be blockedwith volatile amines. Particularly preferred areN-methylsulphonyl-p-toluenesulphonamide (MTSI), para-toluene sulphonicacid (pTSA), do-decylbenzene sulphonic (DDBSA), dinonylnaphthalenesulphonic acid (DNNSA), and dinonyl naphthalene disulphonic acid(DNNDSA). Blocked acid catalysts where the acid is liberated e.g. byheating can, of course, also be used, such as acid esters or reactionproducts of acids and epoxide functional compounds. Particularly usefulcatalysts are acid catalysts, such as toluene sulphonic acid, or dinonylnaphthalene disulphonic acid, which are usually dissolved in alcohol.

Usual additives such as organic solvents, coalescing agents, defoamers,levelling agents, fillers, pigments, light stabilisers, antioxydants,colourants, flow control agents, sag control agents, antiskinningagents, antisettling agents, adhesion promoters, wetting agents,preservatives, plasticisers, mould release agents, and corrosioninhibitors can, of course, be used in coating compositions comprisingthe crosslinker compositions of the present invention.

The crosslinker compositions of this invention may be applied as suchpreferably to heat-sensitive substrates selected from the groupconsisting of paper, textiles, wood, fabricated wood, leather, orcellulosic materials, for which purpose they may be mixed with at leastone of catalysts, fillers, wetting agents, solvents, and diluents, andapplied to the substrate.

The curable compositions of this invention may preferably be employed ascoatings in the general areas of coatings such as original equipmentmanufacturing (OEM) including automotive coatings, general industrialcoatings including industrial maintenance coatings, architecturalcoatings, agricultural and construction equipment coatings (ACE), powdercoatings, coil coatings, can coatings, wood coatings, and lowtemperature cure automotive refinish coatings. They are usable ascoatings for wire, appliances, automotive parts, furniture, pipes,machinery, and the like. They can also be used in electronicapplications, including coatings for metallised circuit boards,semiconductor surfaces, displays, and packaging for electroniccircuitry.

The coating compositions can be applied by any of the known techniquessuch as spraying, dipping, brushing, wire coating, curtain coating, andusing a doctor blade. If formulated as solids, they may also be used ascrosslinkers in powder coating compositions, and may be applied by theusual methods such as electrostatic spraying, or powder spraying.

EXAMPLES

The following examples illustrate the invention, without intending tolimit. All concentrations (strengths) and ratios stated in “%” are massfractions (ratio of the mass m_(B) of a specific substance B, divided bythe mass in of the mixture, in the case of a concentration, or by themass m_(D) of the second substance D, in the case of a ratio). The acidnumber is defined, according to DIN EN ISO 3682 (DIN 53 402), as theratio of that mass m_(KOH) of potassium hydroxide which is needed toneutralise the sample under examination, and the mass ins of thissample, or the mass of the solids in the sample in the case of asolution or dispersion; its customary unit is “mg/g”. The hydroxylnumber is defined according to DIN EN ISO 4629 (DIN 53 240) as the ratioof the mass of potassium hydroxide M_(KOH) having the same number ofhydroxyl groups as the sample, and the mass m_(B) of that sample (massof solids in the sample for solutions or dispersions); the customaryunit is “mg/g”. Dynamic viscosities were measured on the Gardner-Holtscale and converted to SI units (mPa·s). GO stands for glyoxal, and EUfor ethylene urea. n is the symbol for the physical quantity “amount ofsubstance” with the SI unit “mol”. M is the symbol for the physicalquantity “molar mass” with the SI unit “kg/mol”.

¹³C-NMR analyses have been done with a Bruker-Oxford Avance II 400 NMRspectrometer with a 100 mm probe. Samples were prepared by diluting thereaction products with approximately the same mass of dimethylsulphoxide-d₆.

Measurement of molar mass of the reaction products was done by HPSEC, orgel permeation chromatography, using tetrahydrofuran as solvent, at asample concentration of 1 g/100 ml, a flow of 1.0 ml/min, a columntemperature of 40° C., and refractometric detection, using a set ofcrosslinked polystyrene bead filled columns having a particle diameterof 5 ìm, with pore sizes of 100 nm (1×), 50 nm (2×), and 10 nm (3×),providing a measuring range of from 100 g/mol to 50 kg/mol, forcalibration with polystyrene standards. Data collection and analysis wasmade with a software provided by Polymer Standards Service WinGPCsystem.

Example 1

A resin according to the invention was prepared by the followingprocedure:

297 g (2.05 mol) of an aqueous solution of glyoxal (ethane dial, with amass fraction of solute of 40%) were charged to a 0.5 L reaction vesselunder a nitrogen purge. 41 g (0.68 mol) of solid urea were added slowlyover fifteen minutes, and the resulting mixture was heated to atemperature of between 40° C. and 45° C. and held for two hours understirring, resulting in the in-situ formation of 4,5-dihydroxy ethyleneurea (DHEU) and its reaction product with glyoxal. The pH was adjustedto 4.5 by addition of aqueous sodium bicarbonate solution having a massfraction of solids of 10%, to effect further reaction of DHEU withglyoxal, and held under stirring for one hour at the stated temperature.At the end of this period, 66 g (0.68 mol) of ethylene urea hemihydrate(2-imidazolidinone) were added, pH was adjusted to 6.5 by addition ofaqueous sodium bicarbonate solution, and the resulting mixture washeated to a temperature of between 40° C. and 50° C. and held for twohours under stirring. Thereafter, 474 g (14.8 mol) of methanol wereadded. The pH was adjusted to about 2.6 by addition of aqueous sulphuricacid with a mass fraction of solute of 25%, and the reaction temperaturewas then raised and maintained at (45±3)° C. for two hours. At the endof the methylation step, pH of the reaction mixture was adjusted toapproximately 6.6 by addition of an aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide(mass fraction of solids of 25%). Excess methanol and water were removedslowly under reduced pressure (25.333 kPa slowly linearly decreased to16 kPa, equivalent to 190 mm Hg ramped to 120 mm Hg) over a period ofabout two hours. At the end of this distillation, 495 g (6.7 mol) of1-butanol were added and pH was readjusted to about 2.0 by addition ofaqueous sulfuric acid (as supra). The reaction temperature was againmaintained at (48±3)° C. for 2.5 hours. At the end of two and one halfhours of butylation the pH of the reaction mixture was then adjusted toapproximately 6.7 by addition of aqueous sodium hydroxide solution (assupra). Excess butanol, methanol and water were removed slowly underreduced pressure (25.333 kPa slowly linearly decreased to 16 kPa,equivalent to 190 mm Hg ramped to 120 mm Hg) over a period of about twohours. At the end of this distillation, 352 g (4.76 mol) of 1-butanolwere added and pH was readjusted to about 1.5 with aqueous sulphuricacid (as supra). The reaction temperature was again maintained at(48±3)° C. for two hours. At the end of this second butylation the pH ofthe reaction mixture was then adjusted to approximately 6.5 with aqueoussodium hydroxide solution (as supra). The reaction temperature was thenraised to (55±5)° C. for removal of excess butanol, methanol and waterunder reduced pressure (16 kPa slowly linearly decreased to 6.7 kPa,equivalent to 120 mm Hg ramped to 50 mm Hg) until a crosslinker resinwas obtained, hereinafter referred to as “Crosslinker 1”, having a massfraction of solids of 67%, and a dynamic viscosity of approximately 1400mPa·s.

The degree of alkylation and molar mass of the resulting yellowcrosslinker solution were determined by C-13 NMR(n(—O-Alkyl)/n(>C═O)=1.18 mol/mol; “>C═O” stands for the total ofcarbonyl groups in urea and ethylene urea, and by HPSEC (Mw=1390 g/mol,Mw stands for the weight average molar mass) analyses. The ration(—OBu)/n(—OMe) of the amount of substance n(—OBu) of n-butoxy groups tothe amount of substance n(—OMe) of methoxy groups in the reactionproducts was 6.24 mol/1.0 mol.

This mixed ether hybrid product when evaluated in ambient (23° C.) curedsurface coating applications resulted in coating films with goodappearance, satisfactory resistance properties, and superior formulationstability. For this test, clear coating compositions were prepared fromCrosslinker 1 (17.9 g), and for comparison, from a mixture (“Crosslinker1C”) of 20 g of an n-butylated urea formaldehyde resin “Crosslinker 1C1”dissolved in n-butanol and having a mass fraction of solids of 60%, withan amount of substance-ratio of urea to combined formaldehyde ton-butoxy groups of 1 mol:2.3 mol:1.0 mol, and a weight average molarmass of 3300 g/mol with 4.2 g of a fully butylated melamine formaldehyderesin “Crosslinker 1C2” having a mass fraction of solids ofapproximately 99%, with an amount of substance-ratio of melamine tocombined formaldehyde to n-butoxy groups of 1 mol:5.9 mol:4.6 mol, andhaving a weight-average molar mass of 2300 g/mol, with a short oil alkydresin (“Alkyd Resin”, used also in the other examples unlessspecifically mentioned) based on coconut oil dissolved in xylene with amass fraction of solids of 60%, having an acid number of 12 mg/g, and ahydroxyl number of 155 mg/g (Beckosol® 12-035, Reichhold Chemicals),according to the following recipe:

TABLE 1.1 Recipes of Coating Compositions C1 and C1C Coating CompositionC1 C1C Alkyd Resin 46.7 g 40.0 g Crosslinker Crosslinker 1, 17.9 gCrosslinker 1C, 24.2 g Methoxypropanol  0.8 g  0.8 g Catalyst Catalyst1, 0.8 g Catalyst 2, 4.0 g n-Butanol  8.0 g  8.0 g n-Butyl Acetate 25.8g 23.0 g

Catalyst 1 is a solution of dinonylnaphthalene sulphonic acid inisobutanol with a mass fraction of solids of 40%, and Catalyst 2 is asolution of para-toluene sulphonic acid in isopropanol with a massfraction of solids of 40%.

The following properties were measured on glass plates whereon thecoating compositions C1 and C1C had been applied by a wire-wound coatingbar designated as “#65”.

TABLE 1.2 Coating Performance after Ambient Cure (23° C.) CoatingComposition C1 C1C Substrate Glass Glass Film appearance good goodHardness after 24 h, Koenig in s 62 117 Hardness after 11 d, Koenig in s117 157

(1A.2) Example 2 Methyl ether of 4,5 alkoxy 2-Imidazolidinone and2-Imidazolidinone-Ethanedial Resin (OMe=2.3)

Concept: stepwise reaction of 4,5 dimethoxyEU with GO followed byreaction with EU.

A resin according to the invention was prepared by the followingprocedure:

100 g (0.68 mol) of an aqueous solution of glyoxal (ethane dial, with amass fraction of solute of 40%) were charged to a reaction vessel undera nitrogen purge and the pH was adjusted to 6.5 with solid sodiumbicarbonate. 50 g (0.34 mol) of dimethoxyethylene urea (4,5 dimethoxy2-imidazolidinone, solid) were added and the resulting mixture washeated to a temperature of between 40° C. and 50° C. and held for threeto eight hours under stirring. At the end of this period, 29.3 g (0.34mol) of ethylene urea (2-imidazolidinone, solid) were added and the pHwas adjusted to between 6.5 and 7.0 with solid sodium bicarbonate. Theresulting mixture was heated to a temperature of between 40° C. and 50°C. and held for four hours under stirring. A non-etherified product withmass fraction of solids of 70% was obtained. 80 g of this non-etherifiedproduct were transferred to another reactor and 109 g (3.4 mol) ofmethanol were added. The pH was adjusted to about 2.5 with aqueoussulphuric acid (with a mass fraction of solute of 25%) and the reactiontemperature was then raised and maintained at (48±3)° C. for threehours. At the end of three hours of methylation the pH of the reactionmixture was then adjusted to approximately 6.5 with aqueous sodiumhydroxide solution (mass fraction of solids of 25%). Excess methanol andwater were removed slowly under reduced pressure (25.333 kPa slowlylinearly decreased to 16 kPa, equivalent to 190 mm Hg ramped to 120 mmHg) until a mass fraction of approximately from 36% to 40% of the totalreaction mass had been removed. The resulting product was furthermethylated by reaction with 109 g (3.4 mol) of methanol. The pH wasadjusted to about 2.5 with aqueous sulphuric acid (with a mass fractionof solute of 25%) and the reaction temperature was then raised andmaintained at (48±3)° C. for three hours. At the end of three hours ofmethylation the pH of the reaction mixture was then adjusted toapproximately 6.5 with aqueous sodium hydroxide solution (mass fractionof solids of 25%). Excess methanol and water were removed slowly underreduced pressure (25.333 kPa slowly linearly decreased to 16 kPa,equivalent to 190 mm Hg ramped to 120 mm Hg) until a product(“Crosslinker 2”) with a mass fraction of solids of 82% were obtained.

The degree of alkylation and molar mass of the resulting straw yellowcrosslinker solution (70 g) were determined by C-13 NMR(n(—O-Alkyl)/n(total carbonyl)=2.3 mol/mol; “Total carbonyl” stands forthe carbonyl groups from the 2-imidazolidinone derivative and ethyleneurea, and by HPSEC (M_(w)=610 g/mol, M_(w) stands for the weight averagemolar mass) analyses. The degree of alkylation of the aldehyde carbonatoms, expressed as the ratio of the amount of substance of alkoxygroups bound to the aldehyde carbon atoms, to the amount of substance ofcarbonyl carbon atoms in the cyclic alkylene urea, was calculated to be1.65 mol/mol.

This Crosslinker 2 (methyl ether product) when evaluated in ambient andheat cured surface coating applications resulted in coating films withgood appearance, satisfactory resistance properties comparable toformulations using a urea-formaldehyde resin “Crosslinker 2C” having aratio of amount of substance of urea to the amount of substance ofcombined formaldehyde of 1 mol:2.7 mol, and a ratio of the amount ofsubstance of urea to the amount of substance of combined methanol of 1mol:1.7 mol, as crosslinker. It was also noted that Crosslinker 2 has asuperior formulation stability.

Coating compositions were prepared with the Alkyd Resin of Example 1comprising Crosslinker 2 according to the invention (Coating CompositionC2), and a comparative coating composition (Coating Composition C2C)with Crosslinker 2C, and applied to electroplated steel panels(ED-5050).

TABLE 2.1 Coating Composition Coating Composition C2 C2C Crosslinker ofExample 2 Control Example (Crosslinker 2) (Crosslinker 2C) Alkyd Resin,Solid Resin  58.3 g  58.3 g Crosslinker, Solid Resin Crosslinker 2, 18.3g Crosslinker 2C, 15.3 g Methoxypropanol  1.0  1.0 Catalyst Catalyst 2,2.5 g Catalyst 2, 2.5 g 1-Butanol 10.0 10.0 ethanol 12.9 10.0

TABLE 2.2 Coating Performance using “ED 5050” electrodeposition-primedsteel panels, and a Wire-wound coating bar #65, curing was performed at65° C. for twenty minutes. Coating Composition C2 C2C CrosslinkerCrosslinker 2 Crosslinker 2C Film appearance good good Hardness after 24h, Koenig in s 119 113 MEK resistance 200 (70%) 200 (10%)under MEK resistance, the number of double rubs is recorded until thecoating film is damaged. The percentage shown stands for the damagedarea after 200 double rubs (the test is finished after 200 double rubs).

Example 3 (1B.1) Ethyl ether of Urea and 2-Imidazolidinone-EthanedialResin at 60/40 ratio

A resin according to the invention was prepared by the followingprocedure:

73 g (0.5 mol) of an aqueous solution of glyoxal (ethane dial, with amass fraction of solute of 40%), 230.5 g (5.0 mol) of ethanol, and 3.1 g(0.05 mol) of boric acid were charged to a 0.5 L reactor. Urea (15 g,0.25 mol) was then added over a nine minute period. pH of reactionsolution after urea addition was 2.41, which needed no furtheradjustment. The reaction mixture was heated to 55° C. and held for 5hours. 13.8 g (0.16 mol) of ethylene urea hemihydrate(2-Imidazolidinone, solid with a mass fraction of 90%) was then addedand the reaction mixture was heated at 50° C. for an additional 4 hours.The resulting product had an APHA color value of 38. The reactionmixture was then concentrated under reduced pressure until a productwith a mass fraction of solids of 70% were obtained. The degree ofalkylation and molar mass of the resulting viscous very pale yellow oilcrosslinker solution were determined by C-13 NMR (n(—O-Alkyl)/n(totalcarbonyl)=1.31 mol/mol; “Total carbonyl” stands for the carbonyl groupsfrom the 2-imidazolidinone derivative and ethylene urea, and by HPSEC(M_(w)=534 g/mol, M_(w) stands for the weight average molar mass)analyses.

This crosslinker product was evaluated in ambient and heat cured surfacecoating applications and resulted in coating films with good appearance,and satisfactory resistance properties comparable to formulations usingamino-formaldehyde resins as crosslinkers.

(1B.2) Example 4 Ethyl ether of Urea and 2-Imidazolidinone-EthanedialResin at 67/33 ratio

A resin according to the invention was prepared by the followingprocedure:

58.1 g (0.4 mol) of an aqueous glyoxal solution with a solids content of40%, 184 g (4.0 mol) of ethanol, 2.5 g (0.04 mol) of boric acid and 15 g(0.25 mol) of urea were charged to a 0.5 L reactor. Initial pH ofreaction solution was 2.48, which needed no further adjustment. Thereaction mixture was heated to 55° C. and held for five hours. Thereaction mixture was then concentrated under reduced pressure to afford89.0 g of slightly viscous oil. 138 g (3.0 mol) of ethanol was addedfollowed by 10.6 g (0.123 mol) of EU and the reaction mixture was heatedat 55° C. for an additional two hours. The reaction mixture was thenconcentrated under reduced pressure until a product (Crosslinker 4) witha mass fraction of solids of 82% were obtained. The degree of alkylationand molar mass of the resulting viscous very pale yellow oil crosslinkersolution (81 g) were determined by C-13 NMR (n(—O-Alkyl)/n(totalcarbonyl)=1.41 mol/mol; “Total carbonyl” stands for the carbonyl groupsfrom the 2-imidazolidinone derivative and ethylene urea, and by HPSEC(M_(w)=371 g/mol, M_(w) stands for the weight average molar mass)analyses.

TABLE 4.1 Coating Compositions Coating Composition C4 C4C Crosslinker ofExample 4 (147A) Comparative Example Alkyd Resin 58.4 g  58.4Crosslinker Crosslinker 4, 20.1 g Crosslinker 2C1, 15.6 g MethoxyPropanol 1.0 g  1.0 g Catalyst 2 2.5 g  2.5 g 1-Butanol 10.0 g  10.0 gEthanol 8.0 g 12.5 g

TABLE 4.2 Coating Performance measured on ED 5050 steel sheets, curingat 65° C. for five minutes, Film applied by wound wire coater #65Coating Composition C4 C4C Crosslinker of Example  4 2C1 (comparative)Film appearance good good Hardness after 24 h, Koenig in s  44 53 MEKresistance 150 200-50% loss

(1B.3) Example 5 Preparation of Butyl Methyl ether of 2-Imidazolidinoneand Urea-Ethanedial Resin (Butyl, Methyl EU-GO-Urea Hybrid) Under AcidicConditions

A resin according to the invention was prepared by the followingprocedure:

370 g (2.55 mol) of an aqueous solution of glyoxal (ethane dial, with amass fraction of solute of 40%) were charged to a 0.5 L reaction vesselunder a nitrogen purge. 51 g (0.85 mol) of urea solid were added slowlyover 15 minutes and the resulting mixture was heated to a temperature ofbetween 40° C. and 45° C. and held for two and one half hours understirring, resulting in the in-situ formation of 4,5 dihydroxy ethyleneurea (DHEU) and its reaction product with glyoxal The molar mass wasdetermined by HPSEC (M_(w)=358 g/mol, M_(w) stands for the weightaverage molar mass) analyses. To 210 g of this product, 41 g (0.89 mol)of ethylene urea hemihydrate (2-imidazolidinone solid) were added; pHwas measured to be 2.87 and needed no further adjustment. The resultingmixture was heated to a temperature of between 40° C. and 50° C. andheld for two hours under stirring. The molar mass was determined byHPSEC (M_(w)=498 g/mol, M_(w) stands for the weight average molar mass)analyses.

125 g of this product was transferred to a reaction vessel undernitrogen purge. At this point 204 g (6.4 mol) of methanol were added andthe pH was adjusted to about 2.6 with aqueous sulphuric acid (with amass fraction of solute of 25%) and the reaction temperature was thenraised and maintained at (45±3)° C. for three hours. At the endmethylation the pH of the reaction mixture was then adjusted toapproximately 6.6 with aqueous sodium hydroxide solution (mass fractionof solids of 25%). 118 g (1.59 mol) 1-butanol were added and excesswater, methanol and butanol were removed slowly under reduced pressureuntil a mass fraction of solids of 48% were obtained.

The degree of alkylation and molar mass of the resulting yellowcrosslinker solution were determined by C-13 NMR (n(-O-Alkyl)/n(totalcarbonyl EU+Urea)=1.61 mol/mol; “EU” stands for ethylene urea, and byHPSEC (M_(w)=1340 g/mol, M_(w) stands for the weight average molar mass)analyses. The ratio of the amount of substance of n-butoxy groups to theamount of substance of methoxy groups in the reaction products was 0.89mol/1.0 mol.

This mixed ether hybrid product when evaluated in ambient cured surfacecoating applications resulted in coating films with good appearance,satisfactory resistance properties comparable to formulations usingamino-formaldehyde resins as crosslinkers and superior formulationstability.

(2.1) Example 6 Preparation of Butyl Methyl ether of 2-Imidazolidinoneand Urea-Ethanedial Resin to form a Butyl, Methyl EU-GO-Urea ChainExtended Hybrid

A resin according to the invention was prepared by the followingprocedure:

126 g (0.87 mol) of an aqueous solution of glyoxal (ethane dial, with amass fraction of solute of 40%) were charged to a 0.5 L reaction vesselunder a nitrogen purge and the pH was adjusted with aqueous sodiumbicarbonate solution (with a mass fraction of solids of 10%) to 6.2. 69g (0.73 mol) of ethylene urea hemihydrate (2-imidazolidinone, solid)were added and the resulting mixture was heated to a temperature ofbetween 40° C. and 45° C. and held for two hours under stirring. At theend of this period, 11 g (0.18 mol) of urea (solid) were added and theresulting mixture was heated to a temperature of between 40° C. and 50°C. and held for two hours under stirring. At this point 160 g (5.0 mol)of methanol were added. The pH was adjusted to about 2.4 with aqueoussulphuric acid (with a mass fraction of solute of 25%) and the reactiontemperature was then raised and maintained at (48±3)° C. for threehours. At the end of two hours of methylation the pH of the reactionmixture was then adjusted to approximately 6.6 with aqueous sodiumhydroxide solution (mass fraction of solids of 25%). The molar mass ofthe resulting dilute crosslinker solution was determined by HPSEC(M_(w)=2254 g/mol, M_(w) stands for the weight average molar mass)analyses. Excess methanol and water were removed slowly under reducedpressure (25.333 kPa slowly linearly decreased to 16 kPa, equivalent to190 mm Hg ramped to 120 mm Hg) over a period of about two hours. At theend of this distillation, 126 g (1.70 mol) of 1-butanol were added andpH was readjusted to about 2.5 with aqueous sulphuric acid (as supra).The reaction temperature was again maintained at (48±3)° C. for 2.5hours. At the end of two and one half hours of butylation the pH of thereaction mixture was then adjusted to approximately 6.5-7.0 with aqueoussodium hydroxide solution (as supra). Excess butanol, methanol and waterwere removed slowly under reduced pressure (25.333 kPa slowly linearlydecreased to 16 kPa, equivalent to 190 mm Hg ramped to 120 mm Hg) over aperiod of about two hours. At the end of this distillation, 152 g (2.05mol) of 1-butanol were added and pH was readjusted to about 1.8 withaqueous sulphuric acid (as supra). The reaction temperature was againmaintained at (48±3)° C. for two and one half hours. At the end of thissecond butylation the pH of the reaction mixture was then adjusted toapproximately 6.5 with aqueous sodium hydroxide solution (as supra). Thereaction temperature was then raised (55±5)° C. for the removal ofexcess butanol, methanol and water under reduced pressure (16 kPa slowlylinearly decreased to 6.7 kPa, equivalent to 120 mm Hg ramped to 50 mmHg) until a crosslinker resin “crosslinker 6” was obtained having adynamic viscosity of approximately 1400 mPa·s and a mass fraction ofsolids of 64%.

The degree of alkylation and molar mass of the resulting yellowcrosslinker solution were determined by C-13 NMR (n(—O-Alkyl)/n(totalcarbonyl EU+Urea)=1.35 mol/mol; “EU” stands for ethylene urea, and byHPSEC (M_(w)=3148 g/mol, M_(w) stands for the weight average molar mass)analyses. The ratio of the amount of substance of n-butoxy groups to theamount of substance of methoxy groups in the reaction products was 4.57mol/1.0 mol.

This mixed ether hybrid product when evaluated in ambient cured surfacecoating applications resulted in coating films with good appearance, andsatisfactory resistance properties.

TABLE 6.1 Coating Composition (masses in g) Coating Composition 6.1 6CCrosslinker of Example 6 Comparative Example Alkyd Resin 52.6 45.0Crosslinker of this Example 21.2 0 Crosslinker 1C1 0 22.5 Crosslinker1C2 0 4.7 Methoxy Propanol 0.9 0.9 Catalyst 1 0.9 0 Catalyst 2 0 4.51-Butanol 9.0 9.0 Butyl Acetate 15.4 13.4

TABLE 6.2 Coating Performance films applied with a wire wound coater #65on electroplated cold rolled steel sheets (CRSB-1000) CoatingComposition 6.1 6C Crosslinker of Example 6 1C2 (comparative) SubstrateED CRS B-1000 ED CRS B-1000 Formulation Solids 45% 45% Ambient Cure (23°C.) Film appearance good good Hardness 48 h, Konig 120 s 179 s HardnessMEK resistance 25 sls/200 v s 50 sls/200 sls note MEK sl = slight, s =scratched, v = very, nm = no mar, Print - 0 = no mar, 5 = very marred

Comparative Example 7 Showing Lower Mw in Absence of Urea Addition forChain Extension

A resin according without urea addition was prepared by the followingprocedure:

126 g (0.87 mol) of an aqueous solution of glyoxal (ethane dial, with amass fraction of solute of 40%) were charged to a 0.5 L reaction vesselunder a nitrogen purge and the pH was adjusted with aqueous sodiumbicarbonate solution (with a mass fraction of solids of 10%) to 6.2. 69g (0.73 mol) of ethylene urea hemihydrate (2-imidazolidinone, solid)were added and the resulting mixture was heated to a temperature ofbetween 40° C. and 45° C. and held for two hours under stirring. At thispoint 100 g (3.2 mol) of methanol were added. The pH was adjusted toabout 2.4 with aqueous sulphuric acid (with a mass fraction of solute of25%) and the reaction temperature was then raised and maintained at(48±3)° C. for three hours. At the end of two hours of methylation thepH of the reaction mixture was then adjusted to approximately 6.6 withaqueous sodium hydroxide solution (mass fraction of solids of 25%). Themolar mass of the resulting dilute crosslinker solution was determinedby HPSEC (M_(w)=1207 g/mol, M_(w) stands for the weight average molarmass) analyses.

TABLE 7 HPSEC Mw Comparison Mw in g/mol Methylated 2-Imidazolidone-Example 6 2254 Urea-Ethanedial Resin (1^(st) alkylation step) Methylated2-Imidazolidone- Comparative 1207 Ethanedial Resin (1^(st) Example 7alkylation step)

(2.2) Example 8 Preparation of Nonetherified 2-Imidazolidinone andAcetoguanamine-Ethanedial Resin to Form an EU-GO-Acetoguanamine ChainExtended Hybrid

A resin according to the invention was prepared by the followingprocedure:

46 g (0.33 mol) of an aqueous solution of glyoxal (ethane dial, with amass fraction of solute of 40%) were charged to a 0.1 L reaction vesselunder a nitrogen purge and the pH was adjusted with aqueous sodiumbicarbonate solution (with a mass fraction of solids of 10%) to 6.2.26.6 g (0.28 mol) of ethylene urea hemihydrate (2-imidazolidinone,solid) were added and the resulting mixture was heated to a temperatureof between 40° C. and 45° C. and held for two hours under stirring. Atthe end of this period, 1.75 g (0.014 mol) of acetoguanamine (solid)were added and the resulting mixture was heated to a temperature ofbetween 40° C. and 50° C. and held for two hours under stirring. At thispoint 31 g (0.99 mol) of methanol were added. The pH was adjusted toabout 2.7 with aqueous sulphuric acid (with a mass fraction of solute of25%) and the reaction temperature was then raised and maintained at(48±3)° C. for two hours. At the end of two hours of methylation the pHof the reaction mixture was then adjusted to approximately 6.6 withaqueous sodium hydroxide solution (mass fraction of solids of 25%). Themolar mass of the resulting dilute crosslinker solution was determinedby HPSEC (M_(w)=728 g/mol, M_(w) stands for the weight average molarmass) analyses. C-13 NMR analyses and thin layer chromatography using90:10 methylene chloride:methanol elutant on silica gel plate indicatedincorporation of the acetoguanamine.

(2.3) Example 9 Preparation of nonetherified 2-Imidazolidinone andmelamine-Ethanedial Resin to Form a Chain Extended Hybrid

A resin according to the invention was prepared by the followingprocedure:

46 g (0.33 mol) of an aqueous solution of glyoxal (ethane dial, with amass fraction of solute of 40%) were charged to a 0.1 L reaction vesselunder a nitrogen purge and the pH was adjusted with aqueous sodiumbicarbonate solution (with a mass fraction of solids of 10%) to 6.2.26.6 g (0.28 mol) of ethylene urea hemihydrate (2-imidazolidinone,solid) were added and the resulting mixture was heated to a temperatureof between 40° C. and 45° C. and held for two hours under stirring. Atthe end of this period, 1.77 g (0.014 mol) of melamine crystal (solid)were added and the resulting mixture was heated to a temperature ofbetween 40° C. and 50° C. and held for two and one half hours understirring. At the end of this period, an additional 1.77 g (0.014 mol) ofmelamine crystal (solid) were added and the resulting mixture was heatedto a temperature of between 40° C. and 50° C. and held for two hoursunder stirring. The molar mass of the resulting non-etherifiedcrosslinker solution was determined by HPSEC (M_(w)=728 g/mol, M_(w)stands for the weight average molar mass) analyses. C-13 NMR analysesindicated incorporation of the melamine after each addition.

(2.4) Example 10 Preparation of nonetherified 2-Imidazolidinone andmelamine-Ethanedial Resin to Form a Chain Extended Hybrid

A resin according to the invention was prepared by the followingprocedure:

254.6 g (1.76 mol) of an aqueous solution of glyoxal (ethane dial, witha mass fraction of solute of 40%) were charged to a 0.5 L reactionvessel under a nitrogen purge and the pH was adjusted with aqueoussodium bicarbonate solution (with a mass fraction of solids of 10%) to6.2. 151.8 g (1.59 mol) of ethylene urea hemihydrate (2-imidazolidinone,solid) were added and the resulting mixture was heated to a temperatureof between 40° C. and 45° C. and held for three hours under stirring. Atthe end of this period, pH was adjusted with aqueous sodium bicarbonatesolution (as supra) to 7.0, following which 31.0 g (0.24 mol) ofmelamine crystal (solid) were slowly added and the resulting mixture washeated to a temperature of between 40° C. and 50° C. and held for threehours under stirring. As the reaction progressed a clear viscous paleyellow of non-etherified crosslinker product with a dynamic viscosity ofapproximately 2000 mPa·s and a mass fraction of solids of 61.5% wasobtained. The molar mass of the resulting non-etherified crosslinkersolution was determined by HPSEC (M_(w)=530 g/mol, M_(w) stands for theweight average molar mass) analyses indicating incorporation of themelamine. C-13 NMR and infra-red spectroscopy analyses indicatedincorporation of melamine into the crosslinker.

(2.5) Example 11 Preparation of methyl ether of 2-Imidazolidinone andN,N′,N″-trimethyl melamine-Ethanedial Resin to Form a Chain ExtendedHybrid

A resin according to the invention was prepared by the followingprocedure:

46 g (0.33 mol) of an aqueous solution of glyoxal (ethane dial, with amass fraction of solute of 40%) were charged to a 0.1 L reaction vesselunder a nitrogen purge and the pH was adjusted with aqueous sodiumbicarbonate solution (with a mass fraction of solids of 10%) to 6.2.26.6 g (0.28 mol) of ethylene urea hemihydrate (2-imidazolidinone,solid) were added and the resulting mixture was heated to a temperatureof between 40° C. and 45° C. and held for two hours under stirring. Atthe end of this period, 3.2 g (0.019 mol) of N,N′,N″-trimethyl melamine(solid) were added and the resulting mixture was heated to a temperatureof between 40° C. and 50° C. and held for two hours under stirring. Atthis point 90 g (2.8 mol) of methanol were added. The pH was adjusted toabout 2.7 with aqueous sulphuric acid (with a mass fraction of solute of25%) and the reaction temperature was then raised and maintained at(48±3)° C. for two hours. At the end of two hours of methylation the pHof the reaction mixture was then adjusted to approximately 6.6 withaqueous sodium hydroxide solution (mass fraction of solids of 25%). Themolar mass of the resulting dilute crosslinker solution was determinedby HPSEC (M_(w)=1590 g/mol, M_(w) stands for the weight average molarmass) analyses. C-13 NMR analyses showed incorporation of theN,N′,N″-trimethyl melamine.

(3.1) Example 12 Preparation of a Butyl Methyl ether of2-Imidazolidinone and butyl carbamate-Ethanedial Resin to Form an EndCapped Hybrid

A resin according to the invention was prepared by the followingprocedure:

280 g (1.93 mol) of an aqueous solution of glyoxal (ethane dial, with amass fraction of solute of 40%) were charged to a reaction vessel undera nitrogen purge and the pH was adjusted with aqueous sodium bicarbonatesolution (with a mass fraction of solids of 10%) to 6.2. 154 g (1.62mol) of ethylene urea hemihydrate (2-imidazolidinone, solid) were addedand the resulting mixture was heated to a temperature of between 40° C.and 45° C. and held for two hours under stirring. At the end of thisperiod 415 g (12.94 mol) of methanol were added. The pH was adjusted toabout 2.4 with aqueous sulphuric acid (with a mass fraction of solute of25%) and the reaction temperature was then raised and maintained at(48±3)° C. for two hours. At the end of two hours of methylation the pHof the reaction mixture was then adjusted to approximately 6.6 withaqueous sodium hydroxide solution (mass fraction of solids of 25%).Excess methanol and water were removed slowly under reduced pressure(25.333 kPa slowly linearly decreased to 16 kPa, equivalent to 190 mm Hgramped to 120 mm Hg) over a period of about 3.5 hours. At the end ofthis distillation, 275 g (3.70 mol) of 1-butanol were added and pH wasreadjusted to about 2.26 with aqueous sulphuric acid (as supra). Thereaction temperature was again maintained at (48±3)° C. for 2.5 hours.At the end of two and one half hours of butylation the pH of thereaction mixture was then adjusted to approximately 6.5 with aqueoussodium hydroxide solution (as supra). Excess butanol, methanol and waterwere removed slowly under reduced pressure (25.333 kPa slowly linearlydecreased to 16 kPa, equivalent to 190 mm Hg ramped to 120 mm Hg) over aperiod of about two hours. At the end of this distillation, 331 g (4.46mol) of 1-butanol were added and pH was readjusted to about 1.8 withaqueous sulphuric acid (as supra). The reaction temperature was againmaintained at (48±3)° C. for two hours. At the end of two hours of thissecond butylation the pH of the reaction mixture was then adjusted toapproximately 6.5 with aqueous sodium hydroxide solution (as supra). Thereaction temperature was then raised (55±5)° C. for the removal ofexcess butanol, methanol and water under reduced pressure (16 kPa slowlylinearly decreased to 6.7 kPa, equivalent to 120 mm Hg ramped to 50 mmHg) until a mass fraction of solids of 65.3% were obtained.

The degree of alkylation and molar mass of the resulting yellowcrosslinker solution (479 g) were determined by C-13 NMR(n(—O-Alkyl)/n(EU)=1.74 mol/mol; “EU” stands for ethylene urea, and byHPSEC (M_(w)=2898 g/mol, M_(w) stands for the weight average molar mass)analyses. The ratio of the amount of substance of n-butoxy groups to theamount of substance of methoxy groups in the reaction products was 2.48mol/1.0 mol.

50 g of above product was charged to a 0.1 L charged to a reactionvessel under a nitrogen purge. 1.02 g (0.008 mol) 1-butyl carbamate wasadded and the resulting mixture was heated to a temperature of between40° C. and 45° C. and held for two hours under stirring until the butylcarbamate dissolved. The reaction mass was cooled and the pH wasadjusted to about 2.0 to 2.5 with aqueous sulphuric acid (with a massfraction of solute of 25%) and the reaction temperature was then raisedand maintained at (48±3)° C. for three and one half hours. At the end ofthis period the pH of the reaction mixture was then adjusted toapproximately 5.6 with aqueous sodium hydroxide solution (mass fractionof solids of 25%).

The molar mass of the resulting crosslinker solution was determined byHPSEC (M_(w)=5300 g/mol, M_(w) stands for the weight average molar mass)analyses. C-13 NMR analyses indicated incorporation of the butylcarbamate species into the crosslinker.

This mixed ether hybrid product when evaluated in ambient and heat curedsurface coating applications resulted in coating films with goodappearance, satisfactory resistance properties comparable toformulations using amino-formaldehyde resins as crosslinkers andsuperior formulation stability.

(3.2) Example 13 Preparation of a Butyl Methyl ether of2-Imidazolidinone and butyl carbamate-Ethanedial Resin to Form an EndCapped Hybrid

A resin according to the invention was prepared by the followingprocedure:

280 g (1.93 mol) of an aqueous solution of glyoxal (ethane dial, with amass fraction of solute of 40%) were charged to a reaction vessel undera nitrogen purge and the pH was adjusted with aqueous sodium bicarbonatesolution (with a mass fraction of solids of 10%) to 6.2. 154 g (1.62mol) of ethylene urea hemihydrate (2-imidazolidinone, solid) were addedand the resulting mixture was heated to a temperature of between 40° C.and 45° C. and held for two hours under stirring. At the end of thisperiod 415 g (12.94 mol) of methanol were added. The pH was adjusted toabout 2.4 with aqueous sulphuric acid (with a mass fraction of solute of25%) and the reaction temperature was then raised and maintained at(48±3)° C. for two hours. At the end of two hours of methylation the pHof the reaction mixture was then adjusted to approximately 6.6 withaqueous sodium hydroxide solution (mass fraction of solids of 25%).Excess methanol and water were removed slowly under reduced pressure(25.333 kPa slowly linearly decreased to 16 kPa, equivalent to 190 mm Hgramped to 120 mm Hg) over a period of about 3.5 hours. At the end ofthis distillation, 275 g (3.70 mol) of 1-butanol were added and pH wasreadjusted to about 2.26 with aqueous sulphuric acid (as supra). Thereaction temperature was again maintained at (48±3)° C. for 2.5 hours.At the end of two and one half hours of butylation the pH of thereaction mixture was then adjusted to approximately 6.5 with aqueoussodium hydroxide solution (as supra). Excess butanol, methanol and waterwere removed slowly under reduced pressure (25.333 kPa slowly linearlydecreased to 16 kPa, equivalent to 190 mm Hg ramped to 120 mm Hg) over aperiod of about two hours. At the end of this distillation, 331 g (4.46mol) of 1-butanol were added and pH was readjusted to about 1.8 withaqueous sulphuric acid (as supra). 9.5 g (0.08 mol) butyl carbamate wasadded and the reaction temperature was again maintained at (48±3)° C.for two hours. At the end of two hours of this second butylation the pHof the reaction mixture was then adjusted to approximately 6.5 withaqueous sodium hydroxide solution (as supra). The reaction temperaturewas then raised (55±5)° C. for the removal of excess butanol, methanoland water under reduced pressure (16 kPa slowly linearly decreased to6.7 kPa, equivalent to 120 mm Hg ramped to 50 mm Hg) until a massfraction of solids of 65.3% were obtained. C-13 NMR analyses indicatedincorporation of the butyl carbamate species into the crosslinker. Thismixed ether hybrid product when evaluated in ambient and heat curedsurface coating applications resulted in coating films with goodappearance, satisfactory resistance properties comparable toformulations using amino-formaldehyde resins as crosslinkers andsuperior formulation stability.

(3.3) Example 14 Preparation of a Butyl Methyl ether of2-Imidazolidinone and hydroxyethyl 2-Imidazolidinone-Ethanedial Resin toForm an End Capped Hybrid. (Butyl, Methyl EU-GO-HEEU Hybrid)

A resin according to the invention was prepared by the followingprocedure:

280 g (1.93 mol) of an aqueous solution of glyoxal (ethane dial, with amass fraction of solute of 40%) were charged to a reaction vessel undera nitrogen purge and the pH was adjusted with aqueous sodium bicarbonatesolution (with a mass fraction of solids of 10%) to 6.2. 154 g (1.62mol) of ethylene urea hemihydrate (2-imidazolidinone, solid) were addedand the resulting mixture was heated to a temperature of between 40° C.and 45° C. and held for two hours under stirring. At the end of thisperiod, 25 g (0.19 mol) of hydroxylethyl ethylene urea (hydroxylethyl2-imidazolidinone, solid) were added and the resulting mixture washeated to a temperature of between 40° C. and 50° C. and held for twohours under stirring. At this point 415 g (12.94 mol) of methanol wereadded. The pH was adjusted to about 2.4 with aqueous sulphuric acid(with a mass fraction of solute of 25%) and the reaction temperature wasthen raised and maintained at (48±3)° C. for two hours. At the end oftwo hours of methylation the pH of the reaction mixture was thenadjusted to approximately 6.6 with aqueous sodium hydroxide solution(mass fraction of solids of 25%). Excess methanol and water were removedslowly under reduced pressure (25.333 kPa slowly linearly decreased to16 kPa, equivalent to 190 mm Hg ramped to 120 mm Hg) over a period ofabout 3.5 hours. At the end of this distillation, 275 g (3.70 mol) of1-butanol were added and pH was readjusted to about 2.26 with aqueoussulphuric acid (as supra). The reaction temperature was again maintainedat (48±3)° C. for 2.5 hours. At the end of two and one half hours ofbutylation the pH of the reaction mixture was then adjusted toapproximately 6.5 with aqueous sodium hydroxide solution (as supra).Excess butanol, methanol and water were removed slowly under reducedpressure (25.333 kPa slowly linearly decreased to 16 kPa, equivalent to190 mm Hg ramped to 120 mm Hg) over a period of about two hours. At theend of this distillation, 331 g (4.46 mol) of 1-butanol were added andpH was readjusted to about 1.8 with aqueous sulphuric acid (as supra).The reaction temperature was again maintained at (48±3)° C. for twohours. At the end of two hours of this second butylation the pH of thereaction mixture was then adjusted to approximately 6.5 with aqueoussodium hydroxide solution (as supra). The reaction temperature was thenraised (55±5)° C. for the removal of excess butanol, methanol and waterunder reduced pressure (16 kPa slowly linearly decreased to 6.7 kPa,equivalent to 120 mm Hg ramped to 50 mm Hg) until a mass fraction ofsolids of 68.7% were obtained.

The degree of alkylation and molar mass of the resulting yellowcrosslinker solution (479 g) were determined by C-13 NMR(n(—O-Alkyl)/*total carbonyl EU+HEEU)=1.56 mol/mol; “EU” stands forethylene urea, and by HPSEC (M_(w)=2570 g/mol, M_(w) stands for theweight average molar mass) analyses. The ratio of the amount ofsubstance of n-butoxy groups to the amount of substance of methoxygroups in the reaction products was 4.57 mol/1.0 mol.

This mixed ether hybrid product when evaluated in ambient and heat curedsurface coating applications resulted in coating films with goodappearance, satisfactory resistance properties comparable toformulations using amino-formaldehyde resins as crosslinkers andsuperior formulation stability.

(3.4) Example 15 Preparation of a Butyl Methyl ether of2-Imidazolidinone and butyl carbamate-Ethanedial Resin to Form an EndCapped Hybrid

A resin according to the invention was prepared by the followingprocedure:

280 g (1.93 mol) of an aqueous solution of glyoxal (ethane dial, with amass fraction of solute of 40%) were charged to a reaction vessel undera nitrogen purge and the pH was adjusted with aqueous sodium bicarbonatesolution (with a mass fraction of solids of 10%) to 6.2. 154 g (1.62mol) of ethylene urea hemihydrate (2-imidazolidinone, solid) were addedand the resulting mixture was heated to a temperature of between 40° C.and 45° C. and held for two hours under stirring. At the end of thisperiod 415 g (12.94 mol) of methanol were added. The pH was adjusted toabout 2.4 with aqueous sulphuric acid (with a mass fraction of solute of25%) and the reaction temperature was then raised and maintained at(48±3)° C. for two hours. At the end of two hours of methylation the pHof the reaction mixture was then adjusted to approximately 6.6 withaqueous sodium hydroxide solution (mass fraction of solids of 25%).Excess methanol and water were removed slowly under reduced pressure(25.333 kPa slowly linearly decreased to 16 kPa, equivalent to 190 mm Hgramped to 120 mm Hg) over a period of about 3.5 hours. At the end ofthis distillation, 275 g (3.70 mol) of 1-butanol were added and pH wasreadjusted to about 2.26 with aqueous sulphuric acid (as supra). Thereaction temperature was again maintained at (48±3)° C. for 2.5 hours.At the end of two and one half hours of butylation the pH of thereaction mixture was then adjusted to approximately 6.5 with aqueoussodium hydroxide solution (as supra). Excess butanol, methanol and waterwere removed slowly under reduced pressure (25.333 kPa slowly linearlydecreased to 16 kPa, equivalent to 190 mm Hg ramped to 120 mm Hg) over aperiod of about two hours. At the end of this distillation, 331 g (4.46mol) of 1-butanol were added and pH was readjusted to about 1.8 withaqueous sulphuric acid (as supra). The reaction temperature was againmaintained at (48±3)° C. for two hours. At the end of two hours of thissecond butylation the pH of the reaction mixture was then adjusted toapproximately 6.5 with aqueous sodium hydroxide solution (as supra).

To 242 g of the above reaction product, 3.8 g (0.05 mol) melamine wasadded and reaction mixture held at 50° C. for two hours. The reactiontemperature was then raised (55±5)° C. for the removal of excessbutanol, methanol and water under reduced pressure until a mass fractionof solids of 68% were obtained.

The molar mass of the resulting crosslinker solution was determined byHPSEC=2190 g/mol, M_(w) stands for the weight average molar mass)analyses. C-13 NMR analyses indicated incorporation of the melaminespecies into the crosslinker.

This mixed ether hybrid product when evaluated in ambient and heat curedsurface coating applications resulted in coating films with goodappearance, satisfactory resistance properties comparable toformulations using amino-formaldehyde resins as crosslinkers andsuperior formulation stability.

[4] Hybrids Based on the Co-Reacts with MF Resins

(4.1) Example 16 Preparation of a Butyl Methyl ether of2-Imidazolidinone-Ethanedial-melamine Formaldehyde Co-React Resin

A resin according to the invention was prepared by the followingprocedure:

46 g (0.33 mol) of an aqueous solution of glyoxal (ethane dial, with amass fraction of solute of 40%) were charged to a 0.1 L reaction vesselunder a nitrogen purge and the pH was adjusted with aqueous sodiumbicarbonate solution (with a mass fraction of solids of 10%) to 6.2.26.6 g (0.28 mol) of ethylene urea hemihydrate (2-imidazolidinone,solid) were added and the resulting mixture was heated to a temperatureof between 40° C. and 45° C. and held for two hours under stirring. Atthe end of this period, 8.0 g of a methylated high iminomelamine-formaldehyde resin (“MHIMF”) having a ratio of the amounts ofsubstance n(M) of melamine, of combined formaldehyde n(F) and of methoxygroups n(MeO) of 1 mol:3.2 mol:1.6 mol with a mass fraction of monomerof 62% were added, and the resulting mixture was heated to a temperatureof between 40° C. and 50° C. and held for two hours under stirring. Atthis point 99 g (3.1 mol) of methanol were added. The pH was adjusted toabout 2.3 with aqueous sulphuric acid (with a mass fraction of solute of25%) and the reaction temperature was then raised and maintained at(48±3)° C. for two hours. At the end of two hours of methylation, 180gram of product was transferred to a reaction vessel and 226 g (3.05mol) 1-butanol added, the pH of the reaction mixture was adjusted toabout 2.6 with aqueous sulphuric acid (with a mass fraction of solute of25%) and the reaction temperature was then raised and maintained at(48±3)° C. for three and one half hours. At the end of this period thepH was then adjusted to approximately 6.6 with aqueous sodium hydroxidesolution (mass fraction of solids of 25%). The dilute product wasfiltered and excess water, methanol and butanol were removed slowlyunder reduced pressure until a mass fraction of solids of 72% wasobtained.

The degree of alkylation and molar mass of the resulting yellowcrosslinker solution (86 g) were determined by C-13 NMR(n(—O-Alkyl)/*total carbonyl EU)=1.88 mol/mol; “EU” stands for ethyleneurea, and by HPSEC=(M_(w)=994 g/mol, M_(w) stands for the weight averagemolar mass) analyses. The ratio of the amount of substance of n-butoxygroups to the amount of substance of methoxy groups in the reactionproducts was 0.69 mol/1.0 mol. C-13 NMR analyses further indicated theincorporation of the MHIMF resin.

This mixed ether hybrid product when evaluated in ambient and heat curedsurface coating applications resulted in coating films with goodappearance, satisfactory resistance properties comparable toformulations using amino-formaldehyde resins as crosslinkers andsuperior formulation stability. This example has shown improved color onoverbake cure, i.e. curing at higher temperatures for an extended periodof time.

In the following table, the properties of this hybrid resin werecompared to a ethylene urea-glyoxal resin (“EU-GO resin”) prepared bythe following procedure:

363 g (2.6 mol) of an aqueous solution of glyoxal (ethane dial, with amass fraction of solute of 40%) were charged to a reaction vessel undera nitrogen purge and the pH was adjusted to 6.2 by addition of aqueoussodium bicarbonate solution with a mass fraction of solids of 10%. 207 g(2.18 mol) of ethylene urea (2-imidazolidinone hemihydrate, solid) wereadded and the resulting mixture was heated to a temperature of between40° C. and 45° C. and held for three hours under stirring. At the end ofthree hours, 464 g (14.5 mol) of methanol were added. The pH wasadjusted to about 2.5 with aqueous sulphuric acid (with a mass fractionof solute of 25%) and the reaction temperature was then raised andmaintained at (48±3)° C. for three hours. At the end of three hours ofmethylation, 998 g (13.5 mol) of 1-butanol were added and pH wasreadjusted to about 2.5 with aqueous sulphuric acid as supra. Thereaction temperature was again maintained at (48±3)° C. for one hour andthen, excess methanol and butanol were removed slowly under reducedpressure (25.333 kPa slowly linearly decreased to 16 kPa, equivalent to190 mm Hg ramped to 120 mm Hg) until a mass fraction of approximatelyfrom 36% to 40% of the total reaction mass had been removed. Theremaining reaction mixture was then cooled to approximately 35° C. andthe pH of the reaction mixture was then adjusted to approximately 6.5with aqueous sodium hydroxide solution having a mass fraction of solidsof 25%. The reaction temperature was then raised to (55±5)° C. andremoval of excess methanol and butanol was continued under reducedpressure (16 kPa slowly linearly decreased to 6.7 kPa, equivalent to 120mm Hg ramped to 50 mm Hg) until a dynamic viscosity of approximately 300mPa·s and a mass fraction of solids of 63% were obtained. The resultingproduct solution was filtered.

The degree of etherification of the resulting straw yellow crosslinkersolution (814 g) was determined by ¹³C-NMR analysis asn(—O-Alkyl)/n(EU)=1.92 mol/mol; “EU” stands for ethylene urea, its molarmass was determined by HPSEC as M_(w)=1553 g/mol, where M_(w) stands forthe weight average molar mass. The fraction of the area in the graph ofrefraction number difference versus elution volume commonly provided ina high performance size exclusion analysis, which is also referred to asgel permeation chromatography, of the low molar mass range, viz., belowa molar mass of 1 kg/mol, was 34.1%. The Hazen Colour (determined inaccordance with DIN-ISO 6271) was 383. The ratio of the amount ofsubstance n(—O-Bu) of n-butoxy groups to the amount of substancen(—O-Me) of methoxy groups in the reaction products was 2.7 mol/mol.

TABLE 16 Coating Composition Coating Composition C16.1 C16.2 Crosslinkerof Example 16 Comparative Example (“EU GO Resin”) Alkyd Resin 52.5 g52.5 g CLA Product 18.8 g 21.8 g Ethanol 9 g 9 g Methoxy Propanol 0.9 g0.9 g Catalyst 2 1.13 g 1.13 g Butyl Acetate 17.7 g 14.7 g

TABLE 16.2 Coating Performance; coating composition of the table aboveapplied by a wire wound coater # 65 on steel sheets having a whitebasecoat (WBC-B-1000), and cured at 65° C. for fifteen minutes: CoatingComposition C 15.1 C16.2 Crosslinker of Example 16 “EU-GO Resin”Hardness after 24 h (Koenig 63 s 98 s Pendulum) Yellowness (CIELAB b)before −1.1 −0.6 heat treatment Yellowness (CIELAB b) after −1.0 +0.1heat treatment (two hours, 80° C.)

The white basecoat panels were prepared as follows:

The white base coat coating composition was a blend of 810 g of asolvent borne hydroxy functional acrylic resin supplied at 65% massfraction of solids in a mixture of xylene and n-butanol, having anapproximate Tg of 18° C., a weight-average molar mass of 37,000 g/moland a hydroxyl number of 80 mg/g, and an acid number of 12.5 mg/g, andof 190 g of methylated high imino melamine formaldehyde resin (MHIMFresin, see supra) with TiO₂ ground into the acrylic at a pigment toresin loading (mass ratio) of 1.16. The white base coat was formulatedto be 65.9% total solids and 30.5% Total Resin Solids (TRS). The TiO₂was ground into the acrylic in the presence of mass ratios of 10%n-butanol on TRS, 2% of methoxy propanol on TRS and 47% of butylacetateon TRS, with the help of a mass fraction of 2.0% nonionic polymericpigment dispersant on TRS. The formulation was applied onto B-1000 CRS(cold rolled steel) using a #35 wire-wound coating bar. The appliedformulation was allowed to flash at ambient conditions for ten minutesand cured at 140° C. for ten minutes. The film thickness of the panelswas 0.7 mils (0.7×25.4 μm=17.9 μm).

(4.2) Example 17 Preparation of a MHIMF and GO-EU Hybrid

A resin according to the invention was prepared by the followingprocedure:

100 g of the MHIMF resin described supra were charged to a 0.25 Lreaction vessel under a nitrogen purge and 58 g (0.4 mol) of an aqueoussolution of glyoxal (ethane dial, with a mass fraction of solute of 40%)were added. The pH was measured to be 6.85 and no further adjustment wasrequired. The resulting mixture was heated to a temperature of between40° C. and 45° C. and held for two hours under stirring. C-13 NMRanalyses of this reaction product indicated that moieties derived fromglyoxal were bound to the melamine ring.

70 g (with a calculated mass fraction of solute of about 65%) of abovereaction product was charged to a reaction vessel under nitrogen purge.9.5 g (0.1 mol) of ethylene urea hemihydrate (2-imidazolidinone, solid)and 10 g de-ionised water were added. The pH was measured to be 6.43 andno further adjustment was required. The resulting mixture was heated toa temperature of between 40° C. and 45° C. and held for two hours understirring. At this point 77 g (2.4 mol) of methanol were added. The pHwas adjusted to about 2.8 with aqueous sulphuric acid (with a massfraction of solute of 25%) and the reaction temperature was then raisedand maintained at (48±3)° C. for two hours. At the end of two hours 55 g(0.74 mol) of 1-butanol were added, the pH of the reaction mixture wasadjusted to about 2.8 with aqueous sulphuric acid (with a mass fractionof solute of 25%) and the reaction temperature was then raised andmaintained at (48±3)° C. for two hours. At the end of this period the pHwas then adjusted to approximately 6.6 with aqueous sodium hydroxidesolution (mass fraction of solids of 25%). The dilute product wasfiltered and excess water, methanol and butanol were removed slowlyunder reduced pressure until 48 g of a yellow crosslinker resin solutionwith a mass fraction of solids of 72% were obtained. Formation of amixed methyl butyl ether hybrid product was confirmed by C-13 NMRanalysis.

This mixed ether hybrid product when evaluated in ambient and heat curedsurface coating applications resulted in coating films with goodappearance, satisfactory resistance properties comparable toformulations using amino-formaldehyde resins as crosslinkers andsuperior formulation stability.

[5] Hybrids Based on the Co-Reacts with bisbutoxycarbonylamino triazine

(5.1) Example 18 Preparation of Non-Etherified2-Imidazolidinone-Ethanedial Resin in Water

46 g (0.33 mol) of an aqueous solution of glyoxal (ethane dial, with amass fraction of solute of 40%) were charged to a 0.1 L reaction vesselunder a nitrogen purge and the pH was adjusted with aqueous sodiumbicarbonate solution (with a mass fraction of solids of 10%) to 6.2.26.6 g (0.28 mol) of ethylene urea hemihydrate (2-imidazolidinone,solid) were added and the resulting mixture was heated to a temperatureof between 40° C. and 45° C. and held for two hours under stirring. C-13NMR analyses confirmed the formation of the non-etherified2-Imidazolidinone-Ethanedial resin in water. This product was stored ata temperature between 15° C. and 20° C. until further use.

(5.2) Example 19 Reaction of EU-GO with BBCT

A resin according to the invention was prepared as follows:

10 g of product from example 18 was charged to a reaction vessel undernitrogen purge. The pH was adjusted with aqueous sodium bicarbonatesolution (with a mass fraction of solids of 10%) to 6.4. 10 g (0.31 mol)methanol and 1.25 g (0.004 mol)bisbutoxycarbonylamino-monoamino-triazine are charged to the reactionvessel. The contents are mixed and held at ambient (23° C.) to 50° C.for a period of two to six hours. C-13 NMR recorded, thin layerchromatography provide evidence of incorporation of or chainmodification by triazine.

This crosslinker product when evaluated in ambient and heat curedsurface coating applications resulted in coating films with goodappearance, satisfactory resistance properties comparable toformulations using amino-formaldehyde resins as crosslinkers andsuperior formulation stability.

Example 20 Reaction of glyoxal withbis(butoxycarbonylamino)-monoamino-triazine (BBCT)

A crosslinker resin was prepared as follows:

145.09 g of an aqueous solution of glyoxal with a mass fraction ofsolute of 40% were charged to a reaction vessel under a nitrogen purgeand the pH was adjusted with aqueous sodium bicarbonate solution (with amass fraction of solids of 10%) to 6.2. 65 g (2 mol) ofbis-(butoxy-carbonylamino) monoamino-triazine were added and theresulting mixture was heated to a temperature of between 40° C. and 45°C. and held for two hours under stirring. At the end of this period 444g of butanol were added. The pH was adjusted to about 2.4 with aqueoussulphuric acid (with a mass fraction of solute of 25%) and the reactiontemperature was then raised and maintained at (48±3)° C. for two hours.At the end of two hours of methylation the pH of the reaction mixturewas then adjusted to approximately 6.6 with aqueous sodium hydroxidesolution (mass fraction of solids of 25%). Excess butanol and water wereremoved slowly under reduced pressure (25.333 kPa slowly linearlydecreased to 16 kPa, equivalent to 190 mm Hg ramped to 120 mm Hg) over aperiod of about 3.5 hours.

This crosslinker product when evaluated in ambient and heat curedsurface coating applications resulted in coating films with goodappearance, satisfactory resistance properties comparable toformulations using amino-formaldehyde resins as crosslinkers andsuperior formulation stability.

[6] Hybrids Based on the ‘Physical Blends’ of Various Core Molecules,Additives or MF or UF Resins.

(6.1) Example 21 Preparation of a Butyl Methyl Ether of2-Imidazolidinone

A resin according to the invention was prepared by the followingprocedure:

280 g (1.93 mol) of an aqueous solution of glyoxal (ethane dial, with amass fraction of solute of 40%) were charged to a reaction vessel undera nitrogen purge and the pH was adjusted with aqueous sodium bicarbonatesolution (with a mass fraction of solids of 10%) to 6.2. 154 g (1.62mol) of ethylene urea hemihydrate (2-imidazolidinone, solid) were addedand the resulting mixture was heated to a temperature of between 40° C.and 45° C. and held for two hours under stirring. At the end of thisperiod 415 g (12.94 mol) of methanol were added. The pH was adjusted toabout 2.4 with aqueous sulphuric acid (with a mass fraction of solute of25%) and the reaction temperature was then raised and maintained at(48±3)° C. for two hours. At the end of two hours of methylation the pHof the reaction mixture was then adjusted to approximately 6.6 withaqueous sodium hydroxide solution (mass fraction of solids of 25%).Excess methanol and water were removed slowly under reduced pressure(25.333 kPa slowly linearly decreased to 16 kPa, equivalent to 190 mm Hgramped to 120 mm Hg) over a period of about 3.5 hours. At the end ofthis distillation, 275 g (3.70 mol) of 1-butanol were added and pH wasreadjusted to about 2.26 with aqueous sulphuric acid (as supra). Thereaction temperature was again maintained at (48±3)° C. for 2.5 hours.At the end of two and one half hours of butylation the pH of thereaction mixture was then adjusted to approximately 6.5 with aqueoussodium hydroxide solution (as supra). Excess butanol, methanol and waterwere removed slowly under reduced pressure (25.333 kPa slowly linearlydecreased to 16 kPa, equivalent to 190 mm Hg ramped to 120 mm Hg) over aperiod of about two hours. At the end of this distillation, 331 g (4.46mol) of 1-butanol were added and pH was readjusted to about 1.8 withaqueous sulphuric acid (as supra). The reaction temperature was againmaintained at (48±3)° C. for two hours. At the end of two hours of thissecond butylation the pH of the reaction mixture was then adjusted toapproximately 6.5 with aqueous sodium hydroxide solution (as supra). Thereaction temperature was then raised (55±5)° C. for the removal ofexcess butanol, methanol and water under reduced pressure (16 kPa slowlylinearly decreased to 6.7 kPa, equivalent to 120 mm Hg ramped to 50 mmHg) until a mass fraction of solids of 65.3% were obtained.

The degree of alkylation and molar mass of the resulting yellowcrosslinker solution (479 g) were determined by C-13 NMR(n(—O-Alkyl)/n(EU)=1.74 mol/mol; “EU” stands for ethylene urea, and byHPSEC (M_(w)=2898 g/mol, M_(w) stands for the weight average molar mass)analyses. The ratio of the amount of substance of n-butoxy groups to theamount of substance of methoxy groups in the reaction products was 2.48mol/1.0 mol.

Example 22 Addition of Urea

40 g of product from example 21 were charged to a reaction vessel undernitrogen purge. 0.26 g (0.04 mol) of urea solid was charged along with0.5 g of de-ionized water. The resulting mixture was heated to atemperature of between 40° C. and 45° C. and held for two hours understirring until all urea had dissolved. C-13 NMR analyses confirmed theincorporation of urea into the crosslinker. The degree of alkylation ofthe resulting yellow crosslinker solution (40 g) were determined by C-13NMR analysis as n(—O-Alkyl)/n(EU)=1.67 mol/mol; “EU” stands for ethyleneurea. The ratio of the amount of substance of n-butoxy groups to theamount of substance of methoxy groups in the reaction products was 4.06mol/1.0 mol.

(6.4) Example 23 Addition of Butyl Carbamate

40 g of product from example 21 were charged to a reaction vessel undernitrogen purge. 2.6 g (0.02 mol) butyl carbamate solid was charged alongwith 0.5 g of de-ionized water. The resulting mixture was heated to atemperature of between 25° C. and 40° C. and held for two hours understirring until all butyl carbamate had dissolved. C-13 NMR analysesconfirmed the incorporation of butyl carbamate into the crosslinker. Thedegree of alkylation and molar mass of the resulting yellow crosslinkersolution (40 g) were determined by C-13 NMR (n(—O-Alkyl)/n(EU)=1.04mol/mol; “EU” stands for ethylene urea, and by HPSEC (M_(w)=3300 g/mol,M_(w) stands for the weight average molar mass) analyses. The followingdata were found for curing behaviour:

TABLE 23 Coating Compositions and Curing (Hardness and Yellownessmeasure after Cure at 65° C. for 15 minutes) Coating composition C23 C21(comparative) Alkyd resin 52.5 g 52.5 g Crosslinker of Example 23; 20.8g 21; 21.8 g Methoxypropanol 0.9 g 0.9 g Catalyst 2 1.13 g 1.13 gEthanol 9.0 g 9.0 g Butyl Acetate 15.7 g 14.7 g Konig Hardness 93 s 98 sYellowness (CIELAB b) −0.3 −0.6

At slightly lower hardness, there is a lower propensity to yellow onbaking vis-à-vis the comparison.

(6.5) Example 24 Addition of Trimethylmelamine

40 g of product from example 21 were charged to a reaction vessel undernitrogen purge. 0.27 g (0.002 mol) trimethyl melamine solid was chargedalong with 0.5 g of de-ionized water. The resulting mixture was heatedto a temperature of between 25° C. and 40° C. and held for two hoursunder stirring until all trimethyl melamine had dissolved. C-13 NMRanalyses confirmed the incorporation of trimethyl melamine into thecrosslinker.

TABLE 24.1 Coating Compositions (mass of components in g) CoatingComposition C16 C22 C23 C24 Crosslinker of Example Example 22 ExampleExample 16 23 24 Alkyd resin 52.5 52.5 52.5 52.5 CLA Product 18.8 20.820.8 20.8 Methoxy Propanol 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 Catalyst 2 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1Butyl Acetate 17.7 15.7 15.7 15.7 Ethanol 9.0 9.0 9.0 9.0

TABLE 24.2 Coating Performance (coating compositions applied to steelpanels with white basecoat as described in Example 16, using awire-wound coating bar # 65 and cured at 65° C. for 15 minutes CoatingComposition C16 C22 C23 C24 Crosslinker of Example 16  22 23  24 Filmappearance good good good good Konig Hardness after 24 h 63 127 93 126 1hour print NM 0-1 NM 1-2

1 h print values of C22 and C 24 are excellent/good.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A product H that can be used as crosslinking agent comprising a mixture of reaction products P of cyclic alkyleneureas U and multifunctional aldehydes A2 with further reaction products having as constituents, besides U and A2, also at least one of aminoplast formers M which are different from the cyclic alkyleneureas U, and of monofunctional aldehydes A1, the mixture constituting product H comprising the reaction products P made by reacting cyclic alkylene ureas U and multifunctional aldehydes A2, and at least one of the following reaction products: a) reaction products UMA2 made by reaction of cyclic alkylene ureas U, aminoplast formers M which are different from the cyclic alkyleneureas U, and multifunctional aldehydes A2; b) reaction products UMA1A2 made by reaction of cyclic alkylene ureas U, aminoplast formers M which are different from the cyclic alkyleneureas U, monofunctional aldehydes A1, and multifunctional aldehydes A2; c) reaction products MA1A2 made by reaction of aminoplast formers M which are different from the cyclic alkyleneureas U, monofunctional aldehydes A1, and multifunctional aldehydes A2; d) reaction products UA1A2 made by reaction of cyclic alkylene ureas U, monofunctional aldehydes A1, and multifunctional aldehydes A2; e) reaction products MA2 made by reaction of aminoplast formers M which are different from the cyclic alkyleneureas U, and multifunctional aldehydes A2; f) reaction products UA1 made by reaction of cyclic alkylene ureas U, and monofunctional aldehydes A1; g) reaction products UMA1 made by reaction of cyclic alkylene ureas U, aminoplast formers M which are different from the cyclic alkyleneureas U, and monofunctional aldehydes A1; and h) reaction products MA1 made by reaction of aminoplast formers M which are different from the cyclic alkyleneureas U, and monofunctional aldehydes A1, wherein, in the case of reaction product h) being present in mixture with the reaction product P which is UA2, at least one of the other reaction products a), b), c), d), e), f), or g) is also present in the mixture, and wherein product H or reaction product P of U and A2, or both are optionally etherified by reaction of at least a part of hydroxyl groups formed by addition reaction of N—H groups and aldehyde groups, with one or more aliphatic alcohols R′—OH, and which alcohol R′—OH is, optionally, linear, branched or cyclic, and wherein glyoxal is present in the multifunctional aldehydes A2.
 2. The product H of claim 1, wherein the at least one aminoplast former M is selected from the group consisting of amines, acid amides, urethanes R—O—CO—NH₂ and thiourethanes R—O—CS—NH₂, R—S—CO—NH₂ or R—S—CS—NH₂ where R is, optionally, in each case a linear or branched aliphatic, cycloaliphatic, aromatic or heterocyclic radical having up to twenty carbon atoms, cyclic amidines selected from the group consisting of melamine and its homologues, guanamines, and cyclic urea compounds that are not cyclic alkylene ureas U.
 3. The product H of claim 2, wherein the acid amides are selected from the group consisting of linear, branched or cyclic amides of mono- or multifunctional carboxylic acids, including also amides of aromatic carboxylic acids, lactams having from four to fifteen carbon atoms, sulphonamides, sulphurylamides, cyanamide and its derivatives, dicyandiamide and its derivatives, urea, thiourea, guanidine, biuret, 2-imino-4-thiobiuret, and homologues and derivatives thereof.
 4. The product H of claim 2, wherein the amidines are selected from the group consisting of melamine, benzoguanamine, acetoguanamine, formoguanamine, N-alkyl-melamine, N, N′-dialkylmelamine, N, N′, N″-trialkylmelamine, trialkoxymelamine, and alkoxycarbamoyltriazines in which at least one aminic hydrogen atoms of melamine is replaced by an alkoxycarbamoyl group, wherein each alkyl and alkoxy group, optionally has, independent from others in the same molecule, from one to ten carbon atoms in the alkoxy group.
 5. The product H of claim 1, wherein the multifunctional aldehydes A2 has the formula OHC—R″—CHO where R″ is a direct bond or a divalent radical.
 6. The product H of claim 1, wherein the monofunctional aldehydes A1 are linear branched or cyclic aliphatic aldehydes having from one to twenty carbon atoms.
 7. The product H of claim 1, wherein the cyclic alkylene ureas U have at least one unsubstituted amidic >NH group and are cycloaliphatic or bicycloaliphatic compounds having an element of the structure —NH—CO—NH— within an aliphatic ring structure.
 8. A process to make the product H of claim 1, comprising the following steps: a) charging at least one cyclic alkyleneurea U, optionally in mixture with at least one aminoplast former M that is not the same as the cyclic alkyleneurea U, b) admixing at least one multifunctional aldehyde A2, optionally in mixture with at least one monofunctional aldehyde A1, to the mixture of step a) to effect an addition reaction to form a reaction product P of U and A2, optionally, in the presence of a solvent which does not react with any of the at least one multifunctional aldehyde A2, the at least one monofunctional aldehyde A1, the at least one cyclic alkyleneurea U, the at least one aminoplast former M, and the reaction product P, c) optionally, removing water, during or after step b), d) optionally, adding an alcohol R¹—OH, and etherifying under acid conditions, and optionally, removing at least one of water and unreacted alcohol R¹—OH, and e) further optionally, adding after step d) a further quantity of an alcohol R²—OH and etherifying under acid conditions, and optionally, removing at least one of water and unreacted alcohol R²—OH, wherein, if step e) is done, it is done once or more than once, and where R¹ is selected from the group consisting of linear, branched and cyclic alkyl groups, and optionally at least one olefinic unsaturation, and R² is selected from the group consisting of linear, branched and cyclic alkyl groups, and optionally at least one olefinic unsaturation, and further optionally, at least one further hydroxyl group, wherein no two hydroxyl groups may be on the same carbon atom, and if R¹ is different from R², the number of carbon atoms of R¹ is smaller than the number of carbon atoms of R² by at least one.
 9. A process to make the product H of claim 1, comprising the following steps: a) admixing at least one multifunctional aldehyde A2, optionally in mixture with at least one monofunctional aldehyde A1, to at least one cyclic alkyleneurea U to effect an addition reaction to form a reaction product UA, wherein the quantities of A2, U and, if present, A1 are chosen such that there is an excess of the amount of substance of aldehyde groups over the amount of substance of NH groups in the at least one cyclic alkylene urea U, and optionally, removing water, b) admixing at least one aminoplast former M that is not the same as the cyclic alkyleneurea U and continuing the addition reaction, c) optionally, removing water, during or after step a) and/or during or after step b), where steps a) and b) are optionally conducted in the presence of a solvent which does not react with any of the multifunctional aldehyde A2, the monofunctional aldehyde A1, the cyclic alkyleneurea U, the at least one aminoplast former M, the reaction product UA, and the reaction product P of U and A2, d) optionally, adding an alcohol R¹—OH, and etherifying under acid conditions, and optionally, removing at least one of water and unreacted alcohol R¹—OH, and e) further optionally, adding after step d) a further quantity of an alcohol R²—OH and etherifying under acid conditions, optionally, removing at least one of water and unreacted alcohol R²—OH, wherein, if step e) is done, it is done once or more than once, and where R¹ is selected from the group consisting of linear, branched and cyclic alkyl groups, and optionally at least one olefinic unsaturation, and R² is selected from the group consisting of linear, branched and cyclic alkyl groups, and optionally at least one olefinic unsaturation, and further optionally, at least one further hydroxyl group, wherein no two hydroxyl groups may be on the same carbon atom, and if R¹ is different from R², the number of carbon atoms of R¹ is smaller than the number of carbon atoms of R² by at least one.
 10. A process to make the product H of claim 1, comprising the following steps: a) admixing at least one multifunctional aldehyde A2, optionally in mixture with at least one monofunctional aldehyde A1, to at least one aminoplast former M that is not the same as the at least one cyclic alkyleneurea U of step b) to effect an addition reaction under formation of a reaction product MA, wherein the quantities of the at least one multifunctional aldehyde A2 and M, and optionally, the at least one monofunctional aldehyde A1, are chosen such that there is an excess of the amount of substance of aldehyde groups over the amount of substance of NH groups in the at least one aminoplast former M, and optionally, removing water during or after this step a), b) admixing at least one cyclic alkyleneurea U and continuing the addition reaction, c) optionally, removing water, during or after step b), where steps a) and b) are optionally conducted in the presence of a solvent which does not react with any of the multifunctional aldehyde A2, the monofunctional aldehyde A1, the cyclic alkyleneurea U, the at least one aminoplast former M, the reaction product MA, and the reaction product P of U and A2, d) optionally, adding an alcohol R¹—OH, and etherifying under acid conditions, and optionally, removing at least one of water and unreacted alcohol R¹—OH, and e) further optionally, adding after step d) a further quantity of an alcohol R²—OH and etherifying under acid conditions, and optionally, removing at least one of water and unreacted alcohol R²—OH, wherein, if step e) is done, it is done once or more than once, and where R¹ is selected from the group consisting of linear, branched and cyclic alkyl groups, and optionally at least one olefinic unsaturation, and R² is selected from the group consisting of linear, branched and cyclic alkyl groups, and optionally at least one olefinic unsaturation, and further optionally, at least one further hydroxyl group, wherein no two hydroxyl groups may be on the same carbon atom, and if R¹ is different from R², the number of carbon atoms of R¹ is smaller than the number of carbon atoms of R² by at least one.
 11. A process to make the product H of claim 1, comprising the following steps: a) charging at least one cyclic alkyleneurea U, b) admixing at least one multifunctional aldehyde A2, optionally in mixture with at least one monofunctional aldehyde A1, to effect an addition reaction to form a reaction product UA, c) optionally, removing water, during or after step b), to form an at least partially dehydrated reaction product UA, d) adding to the reaction product UA of steps b) or c) a preformed addition product MA of an aminoplast former M and a monofunctional aldehyde A1, or of a preformed addition product MA of an aminoplast former M and a mixture of a monofunctional aldehyde A1 and a multifunctional aldehyde A2, or a mixture of an aminoplast former M and at least one of a monofunctional aldehyde A1, and/or at least one multifunctional aldehyde A2, and reacting the mixture thus formed to effect formation of a product H under at least a partial interchange of the components of the reaction product UA, optionally under removal of water, e) optionally, adding an alcohol R¹—OH, and etherifying under acid conditions, and optionally, removing at least one of water and unreacted alcohol R¹—OH, and f) further optionally, adding after step e) a further quantity of an alcohol R²—OH and etherifying under acid conditions, optionally, removing at least one of water and unreacted alcohol R²—OH, wherein, if step f) is done, it is done once or more than once, wherein optionally, any of the steps b) to f) are conducted in the presence of a solvent which does not react with any of the multifunctional aldehyde A2, the at least one monofunctional aldehyde A1, the at least one cyclic alkyleneurea U, the at least one aminoplast former M, the addition product MA of an aminoplast former M and a mixture of a monofunctional aldehyde A1 and a multifunctional aldehyde A2, and the reaction products UA, MA, and P, and where R¹ is selected from the group consisting of linear, branched and cyclic alkyl groups, and optionally at least one olefinic unsaturation, and R² is selected from the group consisting of linear, branched and cyclic alkyl groups, and optionally at least one olefinic unsaturation, and further optionally, at least one further hydroxyl group, wherein no two hydroxyl groups may be on the same carbon atom, and if R¹ is different from R², the number of carbon atoms of R¹ is smaller than the number of carbon atoms of R² by at least one.
 12. A process to make the product H of claim 1, comprising the following steps: a) charging at least one aminoplast former M, b) admixing at least one monofunctional aldehyde A1, optionally in mixture with at least one multifunctional aldehyde A2, to effect an addition reaction to form a reaction product MA, optionally, in the presence of a solvent which does not react with any of the at least one multifunctional aldehyde A2, the at least one monofunctional aldehyde A1, the at least one aminoplast former M, and the reaction product MA, c) optionally, removing water, during or after step b), to form an at least partially dehydrated reaction product MA, d) adding to the reaction product MA of steps b) or c) a preformed addition product UA of a cyclic alkylene urea U and a multifunctional aldehyde A2, or a preformed addition product UA of at least one cyclic alkylene urea U and a mixture of a monofunctional aldehyde A1 and a multifunctional aldehyde A2, or a mixture of a cyclic alkylene urea U and at least one of a monofunctional aldehyde A1, and/or a multifunctional aldehyde A2, and reacting the mixture thus formed to effect formation of a reaction product P under at least a partial interchange of the components of the addition products MA and UA, optionally under removal of water, and further optionally, in the presence of a solvent which does not react with any of the at least one multifunctional aldehyde A2, the at least one monofunctional aldehyde A1, the at least one cyclic alkyleneurea U, the at least one aminoplast former M, and the reaction products UA, MA, and P, e) optionally, adding an alcohol R¹—OH, and etherifying under acid conditions, and optionally, removing at least one of water and unreacted alcohol R¹—OH, and f) further optionally, adding after step e) a further quantity of an alcohol R²—OH and etherifying under acid conditions, optionally, removing at least one of water and unreacted alcohol R²—OH, wherein, if step f) is done, it is done once or more than once, and where R¹ is selected from the group consisting of linear, branched and cyclic alkyl groups, and optionally at least one olefinic unsaturation, and R² is selected from the group consisting of linear, branched and cyclic alkyl groups, and optionally at least one olefinic unsaturation, and further optionally, at least one further hydroxyl group, wherein no two hydroxyl groups may be on the same carbon atom, and if R¹ is different from R², the number of carbon atoms of R¹ is smaller than the number of carbon atoms of R² by at least one.
 13. A process to make the product H of claim 1, comprising the following steps: a) mixing at least one adduct UA made by reaction of at least one cyclic alkyleneurea U, and at least one aldehyde selected from the group consisting of multifunctional aldehydes A2 and monofunctional aldehydes A1, which the adduct UA is optionally etherified by reaction of at least a part of the hydroxyl groups formed by addition reaction of N—H groups and aldehyde groups, with one or more aliphatic alcohols R′—OH, and which alcohol R′—OH is, optionally, linear, branched or cyclic, with at least one adduct MA made by reaction of at least one at least one aminoplast former M that is not the same as the cyclic alkyleneurea U, and at least one aldehyde selected from the group consisting of multifunctional aldehydes A2 and monofunctional aldehydes A1, which the adduct MA is optionally etherified by reaction of at least a part of the hydroxyl groups formed by addition reaction of N—H groups and aldehyde groups, with one or more aliphatic alcohols R′OH, and which alcohol R′OH is, optionally, linear, branched or cyclic, b) reacting the mixture of UA and MA prepared in step a), optionally in the presence of a catalyst, to at least partial interchange chemical bonds formed between moieties derived from the aldehydes A1 and/or A2 with the cyclic alkylene ureas U and the aminoplast formers M, and c) optionally, etherifying the product formed in step b) by reaction of at least a part of the hydroxyl groups formed by addition reaction of N—H groups and aldehyde groups, with one or more aliphatic alcohols R′—OH, and which alcohol R′—OH is, optionally, linear, branched or cyclic, where any of steps a), b) and c) is optionally conducted in the presence of a solvent which does not react with any of the multifunctional aldehyde A2, the monofunctional aldehyde A1, the adduct UA, the adduct MA, and the product formed in step b).
 14. The process of claim 8 wherein the addition of the at least one multifunctional aldehyde A2 is made in at least two separate portions at a different time during the process.
 15. A method of forming a coating composition comprising admixing the product H of claim 1 to a crosslinkable resin, and optionally, adding a catalyst, wherein the crosslinkable resin is an oligomeric or polymeric material having at least one kind of functional groups selected from the group consisting of hydroxy functional groups, acid functional groups, amide functional groups, amino functional groups, imino functional groups, mercaptan functional groups, phosphine functional groups, and carbamate functional groups, to form a coating composition.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the oligomeric or polymeric material is a solvent-borne material.
 17. The method of use of claim 15, wherein the oligomeric or polymeric material is a water-borne material.
 18. The method of claim 15 further comprising applying the coating composition formed to a substrate selected from the group consisting of metal, semiconductor surfaces, plastics including composite, thermoplastic and thermoset materials, glass, ceramic, stone, concrete, plaster, wood, fabricated wood, paper, cardboard, leather, and textiles.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein least one of additives, diluents, fillers, pigments, and colourants, are admixed to the coating composition before application to a substrate.
 20. The product H of claim 1, wherein R′—OH has from one to ten carbon atoms.
 21. The product H of claim 3, wherein the lactams are selected from the group consisting of γ-butyrolactam, δ-valerolactam, ε-caprolactam, and ω-laurinlactam.
 22. The product H of claim 5, wherein R″ is a linear, branched or cyclic aliphatic divalent radical and has from one to forty carbon atoms, or R″ is an aliphatic divalent radical that is linear, branched or cyclic and has from one to thirty-nine carbon atoms, which radical carries at least one additional aldehyde group —CHO, and wherein the multifunctional aldehydes A2 are selected from the group consisting of glyoxal, malonaldehyde, succinaldehyde, glutaraldehyde, adipaldehyde, 2-methoxymethyl-2,4-dimethylpentane-1,5-dial, cyclohexane-1,3-dial, cyclohexane-1,4-dial, and dialdehydes derived from dimer fatty acids.
 23. The product H of claim 6, wherein the monofunctional aldehydes A1 are selected from the group consisting of formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, propionaldehyde, n-butyraldehyde, 2-methylpropionaldehyde, valeraldehyde (1-pentanal), capronaldehyde (1-hexanal), enanthal (1-heptanal), caprylaldehyde (1-octanal), and 2-ethyl-1-hexanal.
 24. The product H of claim 7, wherein the total number of ring atoms in the aliphatic ring structure is from 5 to 7, wherein the cyclic alkylene ureas U are selected from the group consisting of ethylene urea or imidazolidin-2-one, 1,2-propylene urea or 4-methylimidazolidin-2-one, 1,3-propylene urea or 2-ketohexahydropyrimidine or tetrahydro-(1H)-pyridiminone, and 1,4-butylene urea or tetramethylene urea, wherein the alkylene group is substituted on one or more carbon atoms by hydroxyl groups, or by alkyl groups, or alkoxy groups, and wherein each of the alkyl groups or the alkoxy groups independently from each other have from one to ten carbon atoms.
 25. The process to make a product H of claim 8, wherein R¹ is selected from the group consisting of linear, branched and cyclic alkyl groups having from one to ten carbon atoms, and wherein R² is selected from the group consisting of linear, branched and cyclic alkyl groups having from one to ten carbon atoms.
 26. The process to make a product H of claim 9, wherein R¹ is selected from the group consisting of linear, branched and cyclic alkyl groups having from one to ten carbon atoms, and wherein R² is selected from the group consisting of linear, branched and cyclic alkyl groups having from one to ten carbon atoms.
 27. The process to make a product H of claim 10, wherein R¹ is selected from the group consisting of linear, branched and cyclic alkyl groups having from one to ten carbon atoms, and wherein R² is selected from the group consisting of linear, branched and cyclic alkyl groups having from one to ten carbon atoms.
 28. The process to make a product H of claim 11, wherein R¹ is selected from the group consisting of linear, branched and cyclic alkyl groups having from one to ten carbon atoms, and wherein R² is selected from the group consisting of linear, branched and cyclic alkyl groups having from one to ten carbon atoms.
 29. The process to make a product H of claim 12, wherein R¹ is selected from the group consisting of linear, branched and cyclic alkyl groups having from one to ten carbon atoms, and wherein R² is selected from the group consisting of linear, branched and cyclic alkyl groups having from one to ten carbon atoms.
 30. The process to make a product H of claim 13, wherein the one or more aliphatic alcohols R′—OH have from one to ten carbon atoms, and wherein the catalyst is selected from the group consisting of acid catalysts and basic catalysts.
 31. The method of claim 15, wherein the catalyst is an acid catalyst. 